PM Modi, Bangladesh interim govt head Muhammad Yunus may get chance to meet at Bimstec Summit

New Delhi: The Bimstec summit in Bangkok will be held as scheduled on September 4. Bangladesh interim government head Muhammad Yunus is expected to represent Bangladesh and he may meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will represent India at the summit.

India has put Bimstec at the centre of its Bay of Bengal outreach and utilises it to expand ties with Southeast Asia. ET has learnt that the Indian government is planning to set up three Bimstec centres of excellence including one on maritime transport - a key mode of connectivity between South Asia and SE Asia.

The move comes amid China's increasing interests in the Bay of Bengal region with ports under its control in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Beijing is eyeing a foothold at a deep-sea port closer to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and a great power rivalry may be on the anvil in the Bay of Bengal which is India's traditional zone of influence, according to people tracing the developments.


The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) was established on June 6, 1997, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as Bimstec and comprises seven member states with the admission of Myanmar on December 22, 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004.

After Bangkok, Modi may also visit Singapore on September 5 and engage with new PM Lawrence Wong.