PM Modi to visit Thailand to attend Bimstec Summit on April 3-4
India has turned increasingly to Bimstec as a platform for regional cooperation after pivoting away from the Saarc over the past decade
NEW DELHI: A long-term vision for regional cooperation and a maritime transport agreement are set to be among the key outcomes of the Bimstec Summit in Bangkok that will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week.
Modi will visit Thailand during April 3-4 to participate in the summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), a grouping that includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. This will be the first leg of a two-nation trip that will also take him to Sri Lanka.
India has turned increasingly to Bimstec as a platform for regional cooperation after pivoting away from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) over the past decade because of long-standing differences with Pakistan that stymied regional cooperation initiatives. The leaders of all Bimstec member states were invited to Modi’s second inauguration in 2019.
The Bimstec Summit on April 4 is expected to adopt the Bangkok Vision 2030 document, which will chart a course for long-term cooperation, Jaideep Mazumdar, secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry told a media briefing. A maritime transport agreement to be signed during the summit will be a “big step forward” in regional cooperation, he said.
The theme for the Summit is “Bimstec: Prosperous, resilient and open” and India’s focus will be on strengthening security cooperation, including maritime, climate and cyber security, and measures to increase connectivity for trade, energy and digitalisation, Mazumdar said. The Indian side also leads the security pillar of Bimstec.
Besides the regional summit, Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to review bilateral relations and discuss regional developments, Mazumdar said. The two sides are also expected to sign several agreements in diverse sectors.
Thailand is a valuable partner in India’s “Act East” policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific, and the two sides have close ties in areas ranging from defence and security and trade and investment to connectivity, space and tourism. Thailand is India’s fourth largest trading partner in the Asean region and two-way trade is worth about $15 billion, with India’s exports accounting for almost $5 billion.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri, who also addressed the media briefing, was non-committal while responding to a question on whether Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh’s interim government chief Muhammad Yunus.
“As far as meetings with other leaders in Bangkok is concerned, these questions are being considered, and we will try to inform you about this as soon as possible,” Misri said, speaking in Hindi.
While Modi and Yunus are expected to cross paths a few times during the Bimstec Summit, they are not expected to hold a formal bilateral meeting on the sidelines, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.