6th BIMSTEC Summit:
The Indian Prime Minister participated in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, hosted by Thailand under its chairmanship.
- The summit’s theme was “BIMSTEC: Prosperous, Resilient, and Open,” focusing on strengthening regional cooperation and addressing key challenges.
Key Highlights of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit:
- The Summit adopted the Summit Declaration and Bangkok Vision 2030, outlining a roadmap for regional prosperity with a focus on economic integration, resilience to global challenges, and collaboration in infrastructure, and technology.
- India announced establishment of BIMSTEC Centres of Excellence in India, focusing on Disaster Management, Sustainable Maritime Transport, Traditional Medicine, and Research and Training in Agriculture.
- It also proposed a pilot study on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance governance and service delivery in BIMSTEC.
- India introduced BODHI Program (BIMSTEC for Organized Development of Human Resource Infrastructure) for skill development, providing training, scholarships, and capacity-building for various professionals across BIMSTEC nations.
- India proposed a capacity-building program for cancer care in the BIMSTEC region.
- Establishment of BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and hosting an annual BIMSTEC Business Summit was proposed to promote regional economic integration among member nations.
- India announced initiatives to strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties, including, BIMSTEC Athletics Meet (2025), First BIMSTEC Games (2027), marking the group’s 30th anniversary, BIMSTEC Traditional Music Festival, Young Leaders’ Summit and Hackathon for youth engagement, Young Professional Visitors Program to deepen cultural cooperation.
BIMSTEC:
- BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a regional organization comprising 7 member states as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
- It aims to foster multifaceted technical and economic cooperation among countries in the Bay of Bengal region.
