Explainer; Why is 7-nation bloc important than SAARC

Just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bangkok visit to attend the sixth Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had told a group of parliamentarians that the grouping was now serving as a primary platform for regional cooperation.

SAARC and BIMSTEC

Jaishankar’s remarks at the first meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee for external affairs came in response to questions about Chinese assertions in the region and the future of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which remains suspended since 2016. India pulled out of the 2016 SAARC summit in Islamabad following the Uri terror attack. Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh withdrew subsequently. With SAARC suspended indefinitely, Bimstec continues to gain momentum as a platform for regional cooperation in South Asia. Established in 1997, Bimstec , comprising seven member states — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand — links South Asia with Southeast Asia. Unlike SAARC, which faced challenges of mistrust between partners since inception, Bimstec has witnessed broad cordiality and convergence. Experts have commented on trade between Bimstec countries touching 6 per cent in just a decade as against SAARC, where it lingered at 5 per cent since inception.

Gained heft after 2016

The grouping gained greater heft after 2016 when PM Modi invited Bimstec countries for a Leaders’ Retreat in Goa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Since then, India has been strengthening the grouping and through it, regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region, as it seeks to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

NURTURING grouping

India’s role in nurturing Bimstec has powered its emergence. Though Bimstec’s permanent secretariat was set up in 2014, its charter was adopted in May 2024 with India’s Indra Mani Pandey the current Secretary General. India has granted $1 million to the Bimstec Secretariat to advance the goals of the bloc. In July 2024, India hosted the Bimstec Foreign Ministers’ meeting and in September 2024, it hosted an informal meeting of Bimstec foreign ministers on the sidelines of UNGA in New York. Bimstec’s work is currently categorised in seven segments, each member country leading one. India leads the security vertical; Bangladesh trade, investment and development; Bhutan environment and climate; Myanmar agriculture and food security; Nepal people-to-people ties; Sri Lanka science, technology and innovation and Thailand connectivity. India’s focus in Bimstec, as articulated by PM Modi, is promotion of regional integration for larger global good. As security vertical lead, India has worked to create a strong legal framework to fight terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes in the region.

Powerful alternative

India has been showing consistent interest in the advancement of Bimstec which it sees as a powerful alternative to SAARC. Under India’s leadership, Bimstec also witnessed activities to promote people-to-people ties.

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