The 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will convene in Bangkok on 4 April, with an agenda centred on trade, security, and regional cooperation.
The summit, hosted three years after the previous edition held virtually in Colombo in 2022, will be preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC Senior Officials on 2 April and a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign or External Affairs Ministers on 3 April.
The theme for this year's summit is "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC."
A release from the BIMSTEC Secretariat stated that the summit aims to reinforce collaboration among the seven member states—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand—to address shared security and developmental challenges.
Among the key outcomes of the summit will be the adoption of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration, encapsulating the leaders' vision and directives, and the Bangkok Vision 2030, a strategic roadmap for future cooperation among the bloc’s nations.
Several significant agreements are scheduled for signing, including the Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation, which is expected to facilitate cargo and passenger transport across the Bay of Bengal, bolstering trade and connectivity.
Additionally, BIMSTEC will formalise partnerships with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), marking new avenues for developmental cooperation.
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Another key development will be the adoption of the Rules of Procedure for BIMSTEC Mechanisms, aimed at strengthening the organisation’s institutional framework, alongside the Report of the Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC.
This report, finalised in September 2024 after six rounds of consultations with stakeholders, outlines recommendations that member states have already begun implementing.
Given the rapidly evolving global political and economic landscape, the summit is anticipated to reinforce BIMSTEC’s position as the primary regional body in the Bay of Bengal, fostering collaboration on security and sustainable development.
Since its establishment in June 1997, BIMSTEC has held summits in Bangkok (2004), New Delhi (2008), Nay Pyi Taw (2014), Kathmandu (2018), and Colombo (2022).
The upcoming summit marks a crucial step in shaping the organisation’s future agenda, focusing on seven key sectors: Agriculture and Food Security, Connectivity, Environment and Climate Change, People-to-People Contact, Science, Technology and Innovation, Security, and Trade, Investment and Development. These sectors are complemented by eight sub-sectors, including Blue Economy and Disaster Management.
With five South Asian and two Southeast Asian nations under its umbrella, BIMSTEC is poised to strengthen its role as a dynamic regional bloc, addressing critical economic and security challenges in the Bay of Bengal region.
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