The 5th Summit, set to take place on March 30, will be hosted by Sri Lanka and could be physical or virtual, although all options are being discussed among the group’s seven members. If the summit takes place physically, it will boost Sri Lanka’s economy.
The highly anticipated BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit is expected to take place in Sri Lanka later this month, and will focus on regional integration in the Bay of Bengal, where China continues to grow. his presence.
Agenda of the Summit & Expected Results
The 5th Summit, set to take place on March 30, will be hosted by Sri Lanka and could be physical or virtual, although all options are being discussed among the group’s seven members. If the summit takes place physically, it will boost Sri Lanka’s economy.
For a stable Indo-Pacific region, the group is expected to review the status of the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement, Motor Vehicles Agreement and aim to finalize it as soon as possible.
The leaders of the seven member states are likely to approve the BIMSTEC master plan for transport connectivity, the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the BIMSTEC Charter.
The last summit took place in Nepal in 2018, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the other member states. Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka make up BIMSTEC.
This will also be the first multilateral summit attended by Myanmar leader General Min Aung Hlaing since the military took power last year. He was not invited to attend ASEAN’s annual summit last year.
Due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, Sri Lanka was unable to host the summit in 2021. However, the BIMSTEC foreign ministers met virtually. And to face the common security threats in the region, the countries’ NSAs have drawn up a roadmap.
Strategic implications
The growing presence of Chinese submarines in the region is a major security problem not only for India, but also for the other countries. As previously reported in Financial Express Online, India is in bilateral contact with its eastern neighbors as well as through other initiatives that are part of the SAGAR doctrine.
Also, New Delhi has revived BIMSTEC to not only improve connectivity and trade, but also promote ocean governance and maritime security in the Great Bay of Bengal region.
Importance of BIMSTEC
Security cooperation is of particular importance under BIMSTEC and it is an important link between South Asia and South East Asia and they play a very crucial role in increasing trade and trade and promoting short sea shipping.
According to a senior officer, for the transnational nature of the maritime domain, a joint effort at sea between partner countries is very important as it will help to keep the shipping routes safe.
And this grouping is also important for deeper cooperation on blue economy, agriculture and counter-terrorism, trade and tourism and connectivity.
The next summit will be hosted by Thailand.
This post Sri Lanka will host the BIMSTEC summit at the end of March; Focus areas maritime security, trade and connectivity
was original published at “https://www.financialexpress.com/defence/sri-lanka-to-host-the-bimstec-summit-at-the-end-of-march-maritime-security-trade-and-connectivity-focus-areas/2464160/”
