For a successful Bimstec
WITH the ending of the third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) Summit at Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, one observation is starkly noticeable, that the special interest of regional diplomacy is attracting more countries by the day. But turning Bimstec into an effective regional cooperation has a precondition, and that is the strength of bilateral relations in particular.
It is smooth, undisputed and friendly relation between member countries. It is better displayed through taking actions on the grounds of mutual benefits and in the shape of bilateral ties. So the bottom line concerning Bimstec or any regional cooperation for that matter is: good bilateral relation with the neighbouring country, to a larger extent, determines the success of a regional cooperation. For instance we have experienced how Indo-Pak conflicts prevented Saarc from living up to its expectations. Bangladesh has this disgruntled relationship with both its neighbours, India and Myanmar, over a number of disputed issues. Though the summit specifically focuses on multi-sectoral technical cooperation in the name of an initiative, it carried more weight as Bangladesh clearly addressed a number of unsettled issues with India and Myanmar.
The establishment of the Bimstec permanent secretariat in Dhaka, in terms of a gain, is indeed inspirational as the country will get more prominence as the hub of Indo-Pacific corridor. Our PM's push for regional security and prosperity and fighting terrorism echoed more in tune with her Indian counterpart. The stress on combating the detrimental effects of climate change from a common ground by the Bimstec members was noteworthy. Rather confusing was our PMs over-enthusiasm for more water accords with India as the Indian PM clearly rejected any positive outcome regarding the Teesta water sharing deal along with the pending age-old border and enclave related disputes.
Bringing up the topic of resolving the Rohingya refugee matter in Bangladesh was the most important one, as the dispute has been going on for over three decades. But no concrete promise was made by our Myanmar counterparts to resolve the Rohingya refugee issue in Bangladesh. Today, the Rohingya issue is an unsettled one among four Bimstec member countries (Thailand, India,Myanmar and Bangladesh). Bimstec is a strategically important initiative, but its leadership must ensure that while working on a common ground the pending bilateral disputes among its member countries are settled and not avoided.
In the end, we focus on the need for better and effective bilateral ties among Bimstec member countries as it is a basic requirement for successful regional cooperation.
The writer is Current Affairs Analyst, The Daily Star.
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