The long awaited BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit is expected to take place later this month in Sri Lanka, and the focus will be on regional integration in the Bay of Bengal where China continues to increase its presence.

Agenda of the Summit & Expected outcomes

The 5th Summit which will take place on March 30 is being hosted by Sri Lanka and it could be in physical or virtual format, though all options are being discussed amongst the seven members of the grouping. If the summit happens in a physical form it will help boost Sri Lanka’s economy.

For a stable Indo-Pacific region, the grouping is expected to review the status of the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping agreement, Motor Vehicles Agreement, and work towards finalizing them at the earliest.

The leaders of the seven member countries are likely to approve the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and the BIMSTEC Charter.

The last summit took place in Nepal in 2018, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the other member countries were present. Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka form BIMSTEC.

This will also be the first multilateral summit where Myanmar’s leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing, will be present, since the takeover by the army last year. He was not invited to attend the annual summit of ASEAN last year.

Due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, Sri Lanka was not able to host the summit in 2021. However, the foreign ministers of the BIMSTEC had met virtually. And to deal with the common security threats in the region, NSAs of the countries have drawn up a roadmap.

Strategic Implications

The growing presence of the Chinese submarines in the region is a big security concern not only for India but the other countries too. As has been reported in Financial Express Online earlier, India has been engaging with its eastern neighbours bilaterally as well as under other initiatives which are part of SAGAR Doctrine.

Also, New Delhi has re-energised BIMSTEC to not only improve connectivity and trade but to also promote ocean governance and maritime security in the Greater Bay of Bengal region.

Importance of BIMSTEC

Cooperation in the security domain is of special salience under BIMSTEC and it is an important link between South Asia and South East Asia and these play a very critical role in enlarging commerce and trade and promoting coastal shipping.

According to a senior officer, for the transnational nature of maritime domain, a collaborative effort at sea among partner countries is very important as it will help in keeping the sea lanes safe.

And this grouping is also important for deeper cooperation in Blue Economy, Agriculture, and counter-terrorism, trade and tourism and connectivity.

The next summit will be hosted by Thailand.