{"id":34077,"date":"2024-12-21T18:42:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T13:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=34077"},"modified":"2024-12-21T18:42:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T13:12:59","slug":"24th-bimstec-senior-officials-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-12-2024\/24th-bimstec-senior-officials-meeting","title":{"rendered":"24th BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syllabus: GS 2\/IR <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • India participates in 24th BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    India’s Commitment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Reiterated India\u2019s vision for a robust, vibrant, and prosperous BIMSTEC region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Commitment aligned with:\n
        \n
      • Neighbourhood First Policy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Act East Policy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • The \u00a0meeting reviewed progress <\/strong>since March 2023 and discussed key areas of regional cooperation, including sustainable development, connectivity, security, and people-to-people exchanges. Several documents on cooperation plans, new mechanisms, and partnerships with external entities were finalized.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        BIMSTEC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was established on June 6, 1997, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.\u00a0<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Originally named BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organization was later renamed BIMSTEC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Members : <\/strong>\u00a0It initially included Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and later expanded to include Myanmar in December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in 2004.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Focus : <\/strong>BIMSTEC\u2019s focus initially included six sectors\u2014trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries\u2014and later expanded to include agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change by 2008\n
              \n
            • The group aims to promote economic cooperation among countries bordering the Bay of Bengal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Significance of BIMSTEC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • Regional Cooperation<\/strong>: The Bay of Bengal region was once highly integrated, but regional cooperation declined after independence.\n
                  \n
                • BIMSTEC aims to revive connectivity and shared interests among the countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Sector-Driven Cooperation<\/strong>: BIMSTEC operates in a sector-driven manner, unlike other regional organizations like SAARC or ASEAN. Areas of cooperation are divided among members, with India responsible for sectors like transportation, tourism, and counter-terrorism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Alignment with India’s Policy<\/strong>: BIMSTEC aligns with India\u2019s “Act East” policy and its broader objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Shift from SAARC<\/strong>: Following the 2016 Uri attack, India shifted focus from SAARC to BIMSTEC as SAARC\u2019s progress stalled due to Indo-Pakistan tensions.\n
                    \n
                  • BIMSTEC became an alternative platform for regional cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Land and Maritime Trade Potential<\/strong>: BIMSTEC has great potential for land and maritime trade, but member countries face challenges in transborder trade, maritime trade, and building a shared coastal shipment system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Challenges and Setbacks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Slow Progress: <\/strong>The lack of efficiency and slow pace of progress has been a key challenge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Financial and Operational Issues<\/strong>: The secretariat faces financial and manpower constraints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Political Issues<\/strong>: Internal conflicts, such as the Rohingya crisis, India-Nepal border disputes, and Myanmar’s political instability, have hindered progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Maritime and Fisheries: <\/strong>The Bay of Bengal is a critical resource for millions, but there has been insufficient cooperation on coastal shipment and fishing issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Conclusion and Way Forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • BIMSTEC’s journey reflects the evolving nature of regional cooperation in a complex geopolitical landscape.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • While challenges remain, the organization’s institutional maturation and sector-driven approach position it as an important player in shaping the future of the Bay of Bengal region.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • With continued commitment and cooperation, BIMSTEC could play a pivotal role in fostering a more prosperous and stable future for the member states and the broader Indo-Pacific region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        Source: AIR<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        India participates in 24th BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34078,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34077\/revisions\/34078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}