Dhaka [Bangladesh], March 31 : The 6th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is set to take place on April 4 in Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC," a release from the BIMSTEC Secretariat stated.
The summit, hosted three years after the 5th Summit held virtually in Colombo IN 2022, will be preceded by a meeting of BIMSTEC Senior Officials on April 2 and a meeting of BIMSTEC Foreign or External Affairs Ministers on April 3.
According to the release, the summit aims to strengthen collaboration among the seven member states--Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand--to tackle shared security and developmental challenges.
It will feature a robust agenda, including the adoption of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration, reflecting the leaders' vision and directives, and the Bangkok Vision 2030, a pioneering roadmap for future cooperation among member states.
Key agreements slated for signing include the Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation, aimed at boosting cargo and passenger transport across the Bay of Bengal to enhance trade and travel. Additionally, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will also be inked between BIMSTEC and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), marking the beginning of new developmental partnerships, the release stated.
The summit will also see the adoption of the Rules of Procedure for BIMSTEC Mechanisms, complementing the BIMSTEC Charter to solidify the institutional framework for regional cooperation, and the Report of the Eminent Persons Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC. The group, after six meetings in 2024 and consultations with stakeholders, finalised its recommendations in September 2024, with member states already initiating implementation steps.
In the context of a rapidly changing global political and economic landscape, the 6th BIMSTEC Summit is expected to reinforce the organisation's role as the sole regional body in the Bay of Bengal, fostering cooperation to address security and sustainable development challenges. Bringing together five South Asian and two Southeast Asian nations, BIMSTEC is poised to emerge as a dynamic regional entity.
Since its inception in June 1997, BIMSTEC has held five summits--in Bangkok (2004), New Delhi (2008), Nay Pyi Taw (2014), Kathmandu (2018), and Colombo (2022)--with the upcoming summit marking a pivotal moment in shaping its future agenda across 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, alongside eight sub-sectors including Blue Economy and Disaster Management.