The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations.
It has five countries from South Asia and two from ASEAN. Member states include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
Established in 1997, the organisation is a bridge between South Asia and South East Asia.
Limitations
Much Needed Institutional Internal Reforms:It has long been acknowledged that for BIMSTEC to be able to effectively operate, several reforms are necessary in the structure of the organisation.
Physical Infrastructure: The BIMSTEC region is beleaguered by poor road and rail connectivity, insufficient last-mile links and cumbersome customs and clearance procedures which hamper trade.
Poor Negotiation and Implementation: Significant asymmetries among the BIMSTEC countries which cannot be overlooked when it comes to conducting negotiations as well as implementations.
India’s inability to fully utilizethe potential of BIMSTEC: The objectives of the BIMSTEC are in conjunction with India’s policies of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ which are geared towards enhancing physical connectivity through the establishment of new and upgradation of existing road, rail and maritime linkages to boost trade and people-to-people interactions.
Low Trade Penetration: Connectivity and trade are among the priority areas for cooperation among BIMSTEC members and given that the region is one of the least integrated in the world.
Significance
Balancing of power with the presence of Thailand and India on the bloc.
It includes all the major countries of South Asia, except Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Given this composition, BIMSTEC has emerged as a natural platform to test regional cooperation in the South Asian region.
BIMSTEC’s primary focus is on economic and technical cooperation among the countries of South Asia and South East Asia. So far, 14 sectors have been identified for enhancing regional cooperation among the member countries.
India was motivated to join BIMSTEC as it wanted to enhance its connectivity with ASEAN countries.
SAARC is a purely regional organisation, whereas BIMSTEC is interregional and connects both South Asia and ASEAN.
