BIMSTEC and Regional Cooperation

Overview

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional initiative that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. It aims to accelerate shared growth and cooperation between and among littoral and adjacent countries in the Bay of Bengal region. The grouping is a bridge between South and Southeast Asia. Recently, the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 30 March 2022. The leaders of the sevenmember states attended the Summit virtually with the Ministers of External/Foreign Affairs present physically at the Summit venue. They adopted and signed the BIMSTEC Charter which will provide institutional support for furthering its objectives. In this context, this ONW has reviewed various relevant articles in print and electronic media and has compiled them with respect to the BIMSTEC regional cooperation.