BIMSTEC thinks big, urges practical approach to regional cooperation

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC has big plans, but must also look at regional cooperation in a pragmatic way, said its Secretary General Sumith Nakandala.

Efforts for regional cooperation must focus on achieving practical results, he said on Saturday at the inaugural of a BIMSTEC-organised conference in Bangkok.

“We are working with seven independent, sovereign nations with their own foreign policies,” Nakalanda said while addressing the conference at the Chulalongkorn University.

He acknowledged these varied interests have resulted in slower progress than many may have hoped, but says BIMSTEC has developed a ‘foundation’ for cooperation in its 20 years.

“Some of these developments have a long gestation period,” he said.

But the pace of progress has, Nakalanda said, picked up. “The last three to four years have been crucial.”

He points to the BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat 2016 last October as an example of these recent developments.

The event resulted in a ‘powerful political declaration’ on substantial matters of connectivity, Nakalanda said.

The joint statement from the 2016 Leaders Retreat had emphasised cooperative efforts to combat terrorism, alleviate climate change, recover from natural disasters and develop communication, energy and communication infrastructure.

The more ambitious plans outlined during the meeting include a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of an interconnected power grid in the BIMSTEC region and plans for the creation of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area.

Nakalanda noted the rise of ‘voices against trade liberalization and globalisation’ across the globe and urged those working in regional cooperation efforts to ‘take stock’ of these tensions.

The international conference on ‘Strengthening Cultural Linkages in the Bay of Bengal Region’ has been organised by the Indian Studies Center of Chulalongkorn University and the BIMSTEC Secretariat, with support from Thailand’s foreign ministry between May 27-29.

Nakalanda stressed on the need to look at history – at the past when the Bay of Bengal was closely connected--in order to develop stronger bonds.

Professor Emeritus Khunying Suchada Kiranandana of the Chulalongkorn University Council and Thailand Deputy Director General of the Department of International Economic Affairs Eksiri Pintaruchi also spoke at the inaugural event.

“BIMSTEC is very close to Thailand’s heart,” Deputy Director Pintaruchi said.

She welcomed the conference as a gathering to share knowledge, talk history and ‘revisit our historical successes’ and develop a ‘greater understanding of our common heritage”

The inaugural session concluded with the Keynote Address by Harvard University's history professor Sunil S Amrith, who discussed the densely woven fabric of the region’s history and how those cultural and economic connections dissipated with the rise of inward-looking nationalist movements in the twentieth century.