Samajho's Android app | Samajho's IOS app | Youtube Channel | Telegram Channel | Instagram Channel
BIMSTEC AFTER THE COLOMBO SUMMIT
What the article is about?
- Talks about the prospects of BIMSTEC post-Colombo summit.
- Also, refer to snippets on 29th and 30th March 2022
Syllabus: GS-II International Relations, Regional groupings, India and its neighbourhood
BIMSTEC:
- The 5th summit of BIMSTEC, held virtually in Colombo on March 30
- BIMSTEC celebrates its 25th anniversary in June this year.
- Representing a 5th of the world’s population that contributes only 4% of the global GDP.
Key Highlights of the summit:
- BIMSTEC Charter:
- The signing of the BIMSTEC Charter was the main outcome of this summit.
- Under this Charter, the members were expected to meet once every two years.
- With the Charter, the BIMSTEC now has an international personality. It has an emblem, it has a flag.
- Member countries have agreed to divide the working of the grouping into seven segments:
- trade, investment and development (Bangladesh);
- environment and climate change (Bhutan);
- security, including energy (India); agriculture and food security (Myanmar);
- people-to-people contacts (Nepal);
- science, technology and innovation (Sri Lanka), and
- connectivity (Thailand).
- Master Plan for Transport Connectivity:
- Provide a framework for regional and domestic connectivity.
- Other Agreements:
- signed a treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters.
- A Memorandum of Association (MoA) on the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
- India will provide the (BIMSTEC) secretariat USD 1 million US dollars to increase its operational budget.
Way Ahead:
- BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement: Need for finalisation of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement among the member countries.
- The necessity for a coastal shipping ecosystem and electricity grid interconnectivity, as two of the necessary components of the evolving shape of BIMSTEC.
- The quest for economic growth and the development of the BIMSTEC region can be achieved with a single-minded focus and cooperation among the member counties.
