How Bimstec's reality can match its vision

Implementation of Bimstec decisions has to be monitored at the highest political level, across member nations, if progress is to be made

- Rajiv Bhatia

The family photo of the summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) leaders in Bangkok on April 4 revealed the diversity in their attire and the respectful distance each maintained from the other. This was in marked contrast to the usual family photo of Asean leaders, who are always seen wearing uniform batik shirts and tightly holding each other's hands.

Despite this, it is worth underlining that the 6th summit of seven leaders—five from South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka) and two from Southeast Asia (Thailand and Myanmar) did represent a family comprising the high representatives of 1.72 billion people. They are united by a shared vision and the political resolve to secure it in a rapidly changing world.

How soon can they succeed?

Since its modest origin in June 1997, Bimstec has come a long way nearly 28 years later. It achieved very little until 2016 when, heeding sober voices that the grouping needed a leader, India stepped forward to host the first-ever retreat of its leaders, as well as their rich interaction with the leaders of BRICS in Goa. Two summits later, Bimstec armed itself with a brand-new Charter that came into operation last year, making the grouping a full-fledged inter-governmental organisation guided by a common mandate.

The principal achievement of the latest summit is that Bimstec has adopted 'Vision 2030', a plan outlining its goals and objectives for the next five years. The vision document has three elements, identified in the subtitle: "A Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC by 2030 for our people and future generations."