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Context:

• The External Affairs Minister of India hosted his counterparts for the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi on 11-12 July 2024.

About BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat

• The last edition of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 July 2023.
• The BIMSTEC foreign ministers had last met in a similar format in Bangkok in July last year.
• Thailand is the current chair of BIMSTEC and it is set to host the annual summit of the grouping later this year.

Significance:

• The Retreat will present an opportunity for the Foreign Ministers of the BIMSTEC countries to discuss, in an informal setting, avenues to broaden and deepen cooperation across various sectors including in the fields of security, connectivity, trade and investment, people to people contacts etc, in the Bay of Bengal region and littoral.

BIMSTEC

• Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
• It mainly aims to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development; accelerate social progress; and promote collaboration on matters of common interest in the Bay of Bengal.
• Its Secretariat is in Dhaka.
• BIMSTEC is a regional organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian countries:
  • South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
  • Southeast Asia: Myanmar and Thailand.

Areas of cooperation:

• BIMSTEC has 14 priority areas of cooperation, namely (i) Trade and Investment (ii) Technology (iii) Energy (iv) Transportation and Communication (v) Tourism (vi) Fisheries (vii) Agriculture (viii) Cultural Cooperation (ix) Environment and Disaster Management (x) Public Health (xi) People-to-People Contact (xii) Poverty Alleviation (xiii) Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime and (xiv) Climate Change.

About BIMSTEC Summit

The summit is the highest policy making body in BIMSTEC and is made up of the heads of state or government of its member countries. The summit's objectives include:

• Creating an environment for rapid economic development
• Promoting collaboration and mutual assistance
• Providing assistance in the form of training and research facilities

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has held five summits so far:

First	Bangkok, ˇThailand, July 31, 2004
Second	New Delhi, India, November 13, 2008
Third	Nay Pyi taw, Myanmar, March 4, 2014
Fourth	Kathmandu, Nepal, August 30–31, 2018
Fifth	Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 30, 2022
Sixth	This summit is scheduled to take place in Thailand in September 2024.
Seventh	Bangladesh

About BIMSTEC, Importance, challenges, future prospects and way ahead have been covered here:

• https://www.iasgyan.in/sansad-tv-air-summaries/sansad-tv-air-summary-may-week-4
• https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/bimstec-41

Source:

• https://epaper.thehindu.com/ccidist-ws/th/th_international/issues/90474/OPS/G3KD1VMSK.1.png?cropFromPage=true
• https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/37943/2nd+BIMSTEC+Foreign+Ministers+Retreat#:~:text=External%20Affairs%20Minister%20Dr.%20S,on%2011%2D12%20July%202024.
• https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pitches-for-infusing-new-energies-bimstec-grouping-9447606/

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Discuss the significance of BIMSTEC in enhancing regional cooperation and addressing contemporary challenges in South Asia and Southeast Asia. How can India leverage its position within BIMSTEC to promote its strategic interests and regional integration?(250 words)