New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The BIMSTEC, a regional grouping of seven countries, is set to adopt a charter at its virtual summit on Wednesday that will lay out the basic institutional architecture for expansion of its overall functioning, people familiar with the development said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit being hosted by Sri Lanka.
India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons.
Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
The people cited above said the summit will adopt the ‘BIMSTEC Charter’ which give the grouping an international identity and lay out the basic institutional architecture through which it will carry out its work.
With 21.7 per cent of the world population and combined GDP of USD 3.8 trillion, the BIMSTEC has emerged as an influential engine of economic growth.
The summit is also likely to formally adopt the BIMSTEC master plan for transport connectivity which was finalised under India’s chairmanship of the expert group last year.
The master plan envisages a seamless multimodal transport system across the region with efficient transit facilities to enhance the mobility of goods and people.
The theme of the Colombo summit is: “BIMSTEC — Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy Peoples”. Over the last 10 years, the BIMSTEC has been making steady progress towards becoming a permanent multilateral grouping.
The practice of holding summit meetings began in July 2005 in Bangkok. In 2014, following a decision taken at the third summit in Nay Pyi Taw, a BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka the same year.
In 2021, the BIMSTEC foreign minister’s approved a reorganisation of BIMSTEC activities into seven key areas with each member taking the lead of one sector.
India leads the ‘security pillar’ of cooperation and its present focus is on establishing strong legal norms to combat terrorism and prevent violent extremisms.
At the same time, it has been focusing on establishing legal frameworks and cooperative mechanisms to facilitate closer cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies of the member nations to deal with the security challenges.
While the BIMSTEC member states appreciate the potential of the grouping and recognise that it has not achieved its full potential, they continue to expect India to take a lead in harnessing this grouping. India’s ‘Act East’, ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Indo Pacific’ strategies have reinforced this perception, said the people cited above. PTI MPB ZMN
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Source: The Print
