Bay Of Bengal Initiative For Multi-Sectoral Technical And Economic Cooperation

Explanation :

• Initially, BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand - Economic Cooperation) was formed at a meeting in June, 1997 in Bangkok.
• Myanmar was admitted in December, 1997 and the organization was renamed as BIMST-EC.
• The grouping expanded when Nepal and Bhutan were admitted in February, 2004. The grouping’s name was changed to BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) at 1st Summit Meeting held in Bangkok in July, 2004.
• BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat is at Dhaka was opened in 2014 and India provides 33% (65% of region's population) of its expenditure

Significance

• Together, the organization comprises 5 billion people – 21% of the world population, and a combined GDP of over US$ 2.5 trillion.