11 May 2020, NIICE Commentary 4611
Dr. Mohammad Tarikul Islam
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), regional forum comprising of seven-member states came into being on 6 June 1997 in Bangkok. However, the members like Nepal and Bhutan were included in the forum much later. The overall objective of launching this alliance was to harness shared and accelerated growth through mutual cooperation in a number of areas, and exploiting regional resources and geographic advantages for mutual benefit. As was set in the Bangkok meeting of 1997, the core objective of BIMSTEC is to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development, through identification and implementation of specific cooperation projects in trade, investment, industry, technology, human resource development, tourism, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and transportation.
According to the draft charter of BIMSTEC, Bangladesh will be the lead country for trade and investment, Bhutan for environment and climate change, India for security, including counter-terrorism, transnational crime and energy, Myanmar for agriculture and food security, Nepal for people-to-people contact, including for culture and tourism, Sri Lanka for science, technology and innovation, and Thailand for connectivity. Experts view the Bay of Bengal as the key transit route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, making BIMSTEC more and more relevant in gradually shaping the geopolitical and geostrategic discourses in the region and beyond. BIMSTEC has been evolving constantly and has now transformed itself into an efficient platform for regional cooperation and integration in the Bay of Bengal region.
Work in Progress
BIMSTEC has taken some of the significant initiatives over the years to turn it into a regional grouping in its truest sense. The many landmark agreements that have been arrived at under the BIMSTEC include the Framework Agreement on BIMSTEC Free Trade Area in 2004, the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking in 2009, and an MoU to establish BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection in 2018. In 2014, BIMSTEC established its permanent Secretariat in Dhaka, which gave a formal structure to the regional forum. Four specialised centres, namely the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate (India), the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory (Bhutan), the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (India) and the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (Sri Lanka) are at various stages of operation.
BIMSTEC has been increasingly aligning its activities with the efforts of its member states to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu on 30-31 August 2018, reiterated its commitment to the eradication of poverty in the member countries by 2030, corresponding to the first Sustainable Development Goal on “Ending Poverty”. The fourth summit also called for gearing up of efforts in all sectors to contribute to the over-arching goal of poverty alleviation. BIMSTEC is in the process of establishing closer collaboration with the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to attain this target by 2030. Historically, the Bay of Bengal used to be a centre for global maritime trade, and a hub for commercial and cultural exchange. This geographical advantage has helped BIMSTEC in striving to restore historical routes of connectivity in order to promote trade and investment, tourism, people-to-people contact and cultural exchanges.
Underlying Challenges
Unfortunately, the BIMSTEC is yet to overcome its early-stage limitations, as over the last 23 years, the member countries have deliberately failed to develop an institutional mechanism to expedite the processes of cooperation. The seven-member countries of the BIMSTEC have been able to adopt a charter since its inception. The impulse of the influential member country - India, to promote the BIMSTEC as an alternative to the SAARC, could hinder the overall progress of this regional forum. Nonetheless, the lack of institutional mechanisms, lack of power in the BIMSTEC Secretariat, bilateral issues between Bangladesh and Myanmar, particularly on the repatriation issue of the Rohingya Refugees, and the influence of China in the region in the context of rivalry between India and China are hampering the BIMSTEC process. The BIMSTEC member countries are expected to work on preparing a Rules of Procedure (RoP) document for regular operations of the Initiative, and this RoP is yet to see daylight. It can be concluded that it would be difficult to make regional organisations work effectively, if the member countries remain bogged down into geopolitical conflicts.
Harnessing Regional Growth
On the positive side, the hindered BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations have resumed after a gap of three years. So as to enrich the visibility of BIMSTEC, the Secretariat is now keen to develop partnership with the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh to hold seminars and round tables on specific issues covering diverse areas of intervention under the BIMSTEC. The Initiative believes that a well-established transport network is a precondition for gaining the benefits of a free trade area, including the promotion of trade and investment, as well as progress in other areas of cooperation. Most member countries have taken initiatives towards implementation of the 167 network projects under BIMSTEC, involving a cost of around USD 50 billion that was identified by the ADB-assisted BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study (BTILS) of 2014.
Cooperation in the field of Public Health is a pressing demand, especially on account of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Even though traditional medicines are important in building immunity, the BIMSTEC countries need to broaden their horizons by enhancing healthcare infrastructure, operationalising innovative technology, research and innovation, and importing medical know-how to counter infections such as COVID-19, which aren’t conventional diseases and cannot be treated with traditional medication. We know for a fact that Thailand is the lead country in the ‘Public Health’ area of cooperation within the BIMSTEC, and is doing an extraordinary job in handling this global pandemic. The John Hopkins University ranked Thailand as Asia's most prepared country to deal with an epidemic. BIMSTEC must count on Thailand to help its member countries in combating this pandemic.
Way Forward
Undeniably, the time for BIMSTEC to play a greater role in promoting peace, prosperity and sustainable development in the Bay of Bengal region has come. The BIMSTEC charter must be ready for adoption at the next biennial summit meeting in Colombo. Most Importantly, with the exception of India and Bhutan, the other BIMSTEC member countries participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can utilise the BRI as a platform to propagate the BIMSTEC. For making BIMSTEC effective in its truest sense, the proposal of Bangladesh for restructuring the existing 14 areas of cooperation under three main priority clusters, namely ‘sustainable development, ‘security and stability’ and ‘people to people contact’, would be a step in the right direction. The proposed reforms will bring synergy and focus, and will speed up the BIMSTEC processes. Member states must reaffirm their conviction to intensify collective efforts in realising the objective and purposes of BIMSTEC by working together for the betterment of the people of the region. Last but not the least, with renewed political commitment of the member countries, it can be said that BIMSTEC will come over perceptible hurdles to turn into a viable regional forum.
