BIMSTEC, whose full form is the (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), is an international economic cooperation organization of the littoral countries of the Bay of Bengal.
Member Countries :
There are seven member states involved. Five are from South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Two are from Southeast Asia – Myanmar and Thailand.
History :
This regional organization was established in 1997 under the Bangkok Declaration. Initially it had only four member countries and was called ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Organization for Economic Co-operation), the organization is now known as BIMSTEC and includes the accession of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004. On 31 July 2004, in the first Summit the grouping was renamed as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
The 1st BIMSTEC Summit was held in 2004, The summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand. BIMSTEC headquarters is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. BIMSTEC celebrated its 26th anniversary on 6th June 2023.
Objective :
- Provides cooperation to one another for the provision of training and research facilities in educational vocational and technical fields.
- To promote active cooperation and mutual assistance in economic, social, technical and scientific fields of common interest.
- Provides assistance in enhancing the socio-economic development of the member countries.
Areas of BIMSTEC Cooperation :
- Trade & Investment
- Transport & Communication
- Energy
- Tourism
- Technology
- Fisheries
- Agriculture
- Public Health
- Poverty Alleviation
- Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime
- Environment & Disaster Management
- People-to-People Contact
- Cultural Cooperation
- Climate Change
Qns : Where is the Headquarters of BIMSTEC?
(A) India
(B) Bhutan
(C) Bangladesh
(D) Thailand
Ans : (C) Bangladesh
