BIMSTEC: Vision vs Reality – 6th Summit (Bangkok, April 4, 2025)

In News: The 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok adopted “Vision 2030” and saw key announcements, but challenges remain.

About BIMSTEC

• Full form: Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
• Founded: June 1997
• Members: 7 countries
  • South Asia: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka
  • Southeast Asia: Thailand, Myanmar
• Population: ~1.72 billion (~20% of world)
• GDP share: ~4.7% of global GDP

Key Outcomes of 6th Summit

1. Vision 2030 Adopted

• Theme: “A Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC by 2030”
• Prosperous: Trade, investment, supply chains, food security, poverty eradication
• Resilient: Disaster relief, maritime cooperation, environmental protection, human security
• Open: Tourism (Buddhist/temple/eco circuits), people-centric development, civil society engagement

2. Agreements & Initiatives

• Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement signed
• Review of Master Plan for Transport Connectivity
• Security dialogue elevated to Home Ministers’ level
• New mechanism: Health Ministers’ Meeting
• Push for Tourism Cooperation
• Cooperation with IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) initiated
• Blue Economy focus

3. India’s Announcements

• PM Narendra Modi’s 21-point action plan
• Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Traditional Medicine
• Cancer care training & capacity building across BIMSTEC nations
• Boost for R&D and academic collaboration in Ayurveda & Thai Traditional Medicine

Persistent Challenges

• FTA deadlock: Negotiations stuck for over 20 years; intra-regional trade just ~6%
• Lack of implementation mechanism for summit decisions
• Political tensions between member states may hinder progress (esp. Bangladesh-India-Myanmar triangle)

Future Outlook

• Bangladesh will chair next (7th) Summit (2027)
• Success depends on:
  • Strong political will
  • Avoiding bilateral tensions
  • Effective monitoring of Vision 2030 implementation
    
    Updated- 11 April 2025 ; 10: 30 AM  | https://www.gatewayhouse.in/