Modi pitches for regional security at BIMSTEC meet

The BIMSTEC on Wednesday adopted a much-awaited charter and a connectivity roadmap to expand its cooperative agenda with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitching for giving adequate priority to regional security to ensure prosperity in the backdrop of the developments in Ukraine.

At a virtual summit, the leaders of the seven-nation BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) also entrusted India to helm the grouping’s security pillar while approving its major reorganisation. In his address, Modi said that today is the time to “make Bay of Bengal a bridge of connectivity, a bridge of prosperity and a bridge of security” and noted that it is impossible to ensure prosperity or development of the region without security.

“Developments in Europe in the last few weeks have raised a question mark on the stability of the international order. In this context, it has become important to make BIMSTEC regional cooperation more active,” Modi said. “It has also become imperative to give more priority to our regional security,” he said without mentioning Ukraine.

India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons. Besides India, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa underlined the need to protect the BIMSTEC region from the threats of terrorism, religious extremism and narcotics as he chaired the fifth summit of the seven-member regional grouping on Wednesday. In his address, President Rajapaksa said the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) nations have become the engines of growth in the global economy. Rajapaksa also referred to Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis caused by forex shortages and balance of payment issues. He said the country was badly hit by the pandemic. “Our tourism revenue and our inward remittances were all badly affected,” he said, expressing hope that with international and regional cooperation Sri Lankan economy would be able to bounce back.

Sri Lanka’s geo-strategic location at the centre of the Indian Ocean has been a magnet, attracting a diverse variety of nations and peoples over the centuries, he said.