On March 30, BIMSTEC leaders will meet at Colombo to attend the 5th BIMSTEC summit. The summit is going to be held after a gap of almost four years. Set-up in 1997, the BIMSTEC (comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In the last 25 years, a total of four BIMSTEC summits took place. In sharp contrast, the APEC leaders have never given a miss to the APEC summit since 1993 onward. Summit matters a lot while driving regional integration.

BIMSTEC brings together 1.67 billion people and a combined GDP of $2.88 trillion . No other region can match the BIMSTEC in terms of its resources, and the seven member-states share strong civilisational links and cultural bonds. But a growing sense of community among BIMSTEC is yet to happen.

A regional integration works well when all member-countries contribute and follow a ‘Prosper Thy Neighbour’ policy. We are yet to see the desired momentum on this front. BIMSTEC can achieve enormous prosperity provided member-countries pledge to strengthen the regional integration.

The region has been facing challenges in terms of rise in poverty and inequality, more due to the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change vulnerabilities and shocks, several non-traditional security threats and, more importantly, a regional integration dilemma.

At the Goa mini-summit in October 2016, BIMSTEC leaders extended the necessary political direction. The 2018 BIMSTEC summit called for enhancing the visibility and stature of BIMSTEC. At the coming summit, leaders are going to sign the BIMSTEC Charter, BIMSTEC Connectivity Master Plan, BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation between Diplomatic Academies and Training Institutions of BIMSTEC countries; and Memorandum of Association on the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo.

Not much progress

The regional grouping has made excellent progress on some fronts, but they remain half-done. For example, member-countries have ratified the BIMSTEC energy grid inter-connectivity, but it is yet to be implemented. Member-countries have established the BIMSTEC Secretariat, but have not adequately empowered the Secretary-General. Member-countries have ratified the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking, but it is yet to come into effect.

We are yet to see much progress in setting up a BIMSTEC Development Fund (BDF) and measures to enhance the institutional capacity of the BIMSTEC Secretariat. And, negotiations are ongoing on the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement (CSA), BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA), Grid Interconnection Master Plan Study, etc.

BIMSTEC requires seamless sustainable multi-modal transport links and must promote synergy with other connectivity frameworks such as the ASEAN Master Plan on Connectivity 2025. Trade facilitation can speed up the BIMSTEC integration process. Moving to a regional single window in Customs is worth undertaking, and to encourage paperless trade, the UN paperless trade agreement is the best option. India has made enormous progress in paperless trade and offers many best practices. The way forward would be to conclude the BIMSTEC CSA and the BIMSTEC MVA at the earliest.

Priorities for BIMSTEC would be to bring back growth and resilient recovery, promote trade, investment, tourism, etc., complete the ongoing negotiations, and encourage cooperation in Industry 4.0, culture, public health, disaster management, climate change, etc. Opportunities would be in the areas of renewable energy, digital payments and using ICTs, and sectors such as education (online and offline), tourism, health (traditional and non-traditional), trade facilitation, among others. For example, the BIMSTEC has identified a total 267 projects with $124 billion investment opportunities.

The foundation of BIMSTEC’s economic growth has been the rules-based open multilateral trading system. Leaders must pledge to bring the BIMSTEC FTA to a successful conclusion. Along with it, intra-regional FDI is a must if we want to facilitate the regional and global value chains.

BIMSTEC is the golden heartland of Asia. The coming BIMSTEC summit is going to be an opportunity to build a new economic foundation for the Bay of Bengal region that harnesses our collective strength and shared culture.

The writer is Professor, ASEAN-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi. Views are personal

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