Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the 6th BIMSTEC summit. (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) .

The 6th  Summit of the Heads of State/Government of the member States of BIMSTEC . Held 04 April 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Themed “Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC”. Theme focused on fostering collaboration among the member States to address their shared security and developmental challenges.

LEARNING FROM HOME/WITHOUT CLASSES/BASICS

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization. It comprises seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand. Initially, the economic bloc formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 , the Group renamed ‘BIMST-EC’. (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February 2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).

The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia. It represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries. BIMSTEC has also established a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members. The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people. Which constitute around 22% of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.7 trillion economy.

The BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh.