Can BIMSTEC Deliver?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Bangkok to attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. He combined it with an official bilateral with Thailand, and will travel to Sri Lanka after the summit. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the chair of the current summit, is handing the baton over to Bangladesh for the next two years.   

BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 to foster regional cooperation among countries around the Bay of Bengal, and enhance trade and connectivity. The seven members are India, Bangladesh,  Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. BIMSTEC aspires to achieve a "prosperous, resilient, and open region known as pro-BIMSTEC’’ by 2030.

India and BIMSTEC

Frustrated with the non-performance of SAARC, New Delhi had hoped that BIMSTEC could be a valid alternative for regional economic and trade integration. India-Pakistan differences had ensured that the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) never took off. Following the Uri attack of 2016, India has steadfastly refused to participate at the summit, which was scheduled to be held in Pakistan. Since then SAARC has become defunct, much to the disappointment of other member states. SAARC is now a dead horse and unlikely to be revived soon.

 Since then, New Delhi and put in both money and diplomatic effort to promote and sustain BIMSTEC. During the BRICS summit in Goa in 2016, India invited the BIMSTEC leaders for an outreach session. They were also invited to Modi라이브 바카라 oath-taking in 2019.   

However, so far, there is little to show for BIMSTEC라이브 바카라 over two decades of existence. “For New Delhi, BIMSTEC was attractive because there was no China in the group and no Pakistan to stall every proposal we made,’’ says a top diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Keeping it alive for future use is fine. As of now it has done little of consequence,’’ he adds.

The vision document of BIMSTEC is being adopted at today라이브 바카라 summit.  The potential of the grouping is huge. Much will depend on India라이브 바카라 role as the largest country as well as the biggest economic power in the group. But unless  each member is committed to its success and not bogged down by pricky relations between individual member states, BIMSTEC will not able to fulfill its potential.

“BIMSTEC has a better chance of succeeding because it is free of Pakistan-India rivalry which caused SAARC라이브 바카라 failure. But for BIMSTEC to deliver India must work to make it a genuine body of regional growth and not a mechanism of extending India라이브 바카라 influence. India has everything to gain by making BIMSTEC effective—but effective for growth of all its members, ‘’ says Mahfuz Anam, editor of Daily Star, Bangladesh라이브 바카라 influential English newspaper. “India can do it if it wants to but its record of regional cooperation is not one that exudes a lot of confidence in its partners,” says Anam.

Contradictions with BIMSTEC

Yet the contradictions within BIMSTEC are huge. While all five member countries are on the same page on the need to energise the grouping, diplomatic ties are often marred by differences.  Since Sheikh Hasina had to flee to New Delhi last August, following a people라이브 바카라 uprising against her government, relations between the two neibhbours are strained. The fact that Sheikh Hasina is in India, does not go down well with the people of Bangladesh. New Delhi has so far refused to hand over the former prime minister to Dhaka where she would stand trial for alleged misdeeds. India has repeatedly called out Bangladesh for not protecting Hindus living there. Prime Minister himself had led the charge.

Prime Minister Modi had his first bilateral meeting with Bangladesh라이브 바카라 interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Whether this will result in an easing of tension between the two neighbours remains to be seen. Yunus라이브 바카라 statement during a recent visit to China, that Bangladesh was the sole guardian of the Ocean in the region, irritated India. Without mentioning Bangladesh, foreign minister Subramaniam Jaishankar pointed out during a speech to BIMSTEK foreign ministers on Thursday about India라이브 바카라 long, almost 6,500km of coastline in the Bay of Bengal coastline, an obvious dig at the professor라이브 바카라 comment. 

Myanmar and Bangladesh also have problems over the Rohingyas, now living in camps in Bangladesh. None of the refugees wish to go back to Myanmar where they are subjected to abuse and torture. Nepal라이브 바카라 Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli remains suspicious of India, over  the BJP라이브 바카라 support for the return of the monarchy in Nepal. Myanmar is in the middle of a civil war and went through a devastating earthquake. Democratic opponents  continue to languish in jail.

At the summit all leaders from Modi, to Yunus, to Oli, and Shinawatra and others all spoke in one voice to take forward the BIMSTEC vision. If they can do so despite these constant niggles, there is hope for the future.