Thailand is scheduled to host a retreat of BIMSTEC foreign ministers in July, to reinvigorate the 25-year-old intergovernmental organisation, said a report by the Thai PBS World.

An informed source told Thai PBS World that Thailand, the current chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has scheduled a retreat in Bangkok on July 17th, to exchange views on regional issues as well as ways to move the 25-year old organisation forward. The source said that foreign ministers from all members have agreed to attend.

BIMSTEC’s Southern and Southeast Asian nations include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The source added that at the last summit, conducted online with Sri Lanka as the previous chair, the status of BIMSTEC had been elevated to an intergovernmental organisation, which enhances its visibility and credibility at the international level.

One of the priorities under the Thai chair is to implement the BIMSTEC Master Plan on Transport Connectivity, proposed by Thailand back in 2018. Now, as the new lead country in connectivity, Thailand can play an ever more prominent role in enhancing inter-regional connectivity.

Furthermore, it will underpin Thailand’s role as a bridge-builder, transport hub and business link between Southeast and South Asia and between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

BIMSTEC is one of the largest intergovernmental cooperation frameworks worldwide in terms of population, size of economy and economic potential. The region has a combined population of nearly 1.8 billion and a combined gross domestic product of US$4.4 trillion in 2022.

Given the current geopolitical shifts, the BIMSTEC region has more strategic, economic and commercial importance than at any time since its inception in 1997 in Bangkok.

Thailand will work closely with all member States towards realising the vision for a Prosperous, Resilient and Robust, Open BIMSTEC or “PRO BIMSTEC”, while incorporating the BCG economic model as a guiding concept in each sector of cooperation. The source added that Thailand is committed to working for a robust post-pandemic economic recovery, closer business and people-to-people ties and inclusive and sustainable growth for the BIMSTEC region.