BIMSTEC

About BIMSTEC:

• BIMSTEC is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
• This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
• It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.
• Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
• Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’
• With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February 2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).

Importance:

• BIMSTEC constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.
• The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people which constitute around 22% of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.7 trillion economy.
• The Permanent Secretariat of BIMSTEC was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 13th September 2014.
• The Chairmanship of BIMSTEC rotates among the Member States.
• Sri Lanka is the present chair of BIMSTEC while Thailand will be the new chair

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements regarding Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation:
1.It was established in 2005.
2.Bhutan and Nepal are the last members to join BIMSTEC.
Choose the correct statements from the codes given below:
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question