3rd EPG meeting of BIMSTEC held In Dhaka, Bangladesh

The third meeting of the  Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on the future direction of   BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) was held on 12 and 13 May 2024 at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum of Thailand, as Thailand is the current chairman of BIMSTEC.

Role of EPG in BIMSTEC 

The EPG comprises eminent personalities from all seven BIMSTEC members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It was set up to prepare a roadmap for BIMSTEC's future.

The EPG plays the same role as Sherpas in the G20 summit. They are top-ranking officials of the member countries who help prepare the agenda for the upcoming summit meetings, which will be attended by the top leaders of BIMSTEC. Navalsang Parmar is the Indian member of the EPG.

The EPG has been tasked by the BIMSTEC  to make a recommendation for reforming, revitalising, and finding a new purpose for BIMSTEC so as to foster a prosperous, resilient and developed Bay of Bengal region. 

The leaders of BIMSTEC want to further deepen regional cooperation to promote sustainable security in member states. The EPG will prepare a road map to revitalise BISTEC in fast-changing regional and global political and security dynamics.

The first meeting of the EPG took place in Dhaka on 25 January 2024. The second meeting was held in Dhaka on 11-12 March 2024, and the next fourth meeting will take place on 23-25 June 2024.

The EPG has to submit its recommendation before the sixth BIMSTEC Summit meeting to be held in Thailand in 2024.

BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)   

BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)  is a regional organization  which was founded as BIST-EC (Bangladesh India Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) on 6 June 1997.

With the joining of Myanmar, the name of the organisation was changed to BIMSTEC on 22 December 1997.

BIMSTEC is a regional organisation which is composed primarily of seven member countries which lie adjacent to the Bay of Bengal.

Members of BIMSTEC

Initially, it consisted of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In 1997, it was expanded to include Myanmar. In 2004, Nepal and Bhutan joined the organisation, taking the total membership of the BIMSTEC to seven.

Areas of Cooperation 

 BIMSTEC has identified  (i)Trade, Investment and Development (ii) Environment and Climate Change (iii) Security; Sub-sectors: Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime; Disaster Management; Energy (iv) Agriculture and Food Security; Sub-sectors: Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock (v) People-to-People Contact; Sub-sectors: Culture; Tourism; People-to-People Contact (vi) Science, Technology, and Innovation; Sub-sectors: Technology; Health; Human Resource Development (vii) Connectivity as the priority areas of cooperation amongst the member countries.

Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh 

Secretary General - Indra Mani Pandey of India 

Summit Meeting of BIMSTEC 

The summit is the organisation's highest decision-making meeting. Top leaders of the member countries attended the summit meeting, and the Prime Minister of India represented India in the BIMSTEC summit meeting.

• The first summit meeting of BIMSTEC was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004
• The second summit meeting was held in New Delhi in 2008
• The third summit was held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar  in 2014
• The 4th summit meeting was held in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2018
• The 5th summit meeting was a virtual meeting hosted by Sri Lanka in 2022
• The 6th summit meeting will be hosted by Thailand in 2024.