While Narendra Modi is all set to return to power for a second term as the Prime Minister, the member nations of (BIMSTEC) have been extended invitations to the swearing in ceremony scheduled for 30 May.
In 2014 when Modi won his first term, all the SAARC leaders, including the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, attended the swearing in. The invitations were extended to all the member countries of the south Asian grouping.
This time, the invitations have been extended to all the member nations of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the strategically important regional group of nations which does not include Pakistan.
What is BIMSTEC?
Formed on 6 June 1997, the organization constitutes seven Member States: five from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.
The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries. BIMSTEC has also established a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members.
The objective of the group was to harness shared and accelerated growth through mutual cooperation in different areas of common interests.
The aim of the nations is to mitigate the onslaught of globalization and utilise regional resources and geographical advantages. The group focuses on many sectors – trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries, agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people to people contact and climate change – in 2008.