Modi to attend Bimstec summit in Bangkok in April

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the summit meeting of regional grouping Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) early next month in the Thai capital Bangkok on April 3-4. Bimstec comprises seven countries of South and Southeast Asia -- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The Bimstec summit was originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok last year but was postponed due to political instability in Thailand, which is the current chair of the grouping. Bimstec has been the major regional grouping that India has prioritised ever since South Asian grouping Saarc lapsed into a deep freeze nearly a decade ago due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Islamabad is a member of Saarc but not of Bimstec.

It also remains to be seen whether a bilateral meeting will take place on the sidelines of the summit between Modi and the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus. There has been a marked deterioration in ties between the two neighbours ever since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister of Bangladesh in August last year.

The participation at the summit by the ruling military junta in Myanmar will also be keenly watched, given that the security situation there has severely deteriorated since last year. Both India and Thailand are neighbours of Myanmar.

Modi is also expected to visit Sri Lanka early next month, either before or immediately after the Bimstec summit. Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath was quoted as saying by news agency reports last Saturday that Modi will be visiting the island nation. “We have maintained a close relationship with our neighbour India. Our first diplomatic visit was to India, where we reached several agreements on bilateral cooperation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here early April,” the Sri Lankan foreign minister said last week.

Left-leaning Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had visited New Delhi in December last year and had held talks with Modi, after which the two nations had announced increased cooperation in the fields of development assistance, including debt restructuring, trade, digital technology, energy, defence and security, connectivity and people to people ties. Modi had then announced that a futuristic vision had been adopted by the two sides that included investment-led growth and connectivity.

Pointing out that India had so far given $5 billion, including both lines of credit and grant assistance to Sri Lanka, Modi had described physical, energy and digital connectivity as the important pillars in bilateral ties.