Bangkok Summit: Cementing Bharat’s Regional Leadership

New Delhi’s proactive efforts to strengthen BIMSTEC can also be seen as a strategic move to sideline SAARC, which has largely gone into stagnation. Notably, five of the SAARC members are also part of BIMSTEC—excluding Pakistan—thereby ensuring that Indo-Pak geopolitical baggage does not slow down or bog down this important regional grouping

Bharat is driving the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)

agenda in line with its vision for a connected and cooperative Bay of Bengal region—advancing strategic, economic, and maritime priorities. With the SAARC platform stagnating, BIMSTEC has become the pivot for Bharat’s regional ambitions.

BIMSTEC, under its current structure, includes seven nations: Bangladesh, Bharat, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. It was established in 1997 with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as founding Members. This strategically important grouping of countries that share the Bay of Bengal, one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes, was to act as a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia to promote regional connectivity, trade, and cultural linkages.

Cementing Bharat's regional leadership

At the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, on April 4, in Bangkok, themed “BIMSTEC: Prosperous, Resilient and Open; PM Modi announced that India will host the inaugural BIMSTEC Athletics Meet in 2025, and proposed a BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and offered to share India’s expertise in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with BIMSTEC nations reinforcing PM Modi's philosophy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas” (Together with all, development for all, efforts by all) applied in geopolitical context.

New Delhi’s proactive efforts to strengthen BIMSTEC can also be seen as a strategic move to sideline SAARC, which has largely gone into stagnation. Notably, five of the SAARC members are also part of BIMSTEC—excluding Pakistan—thereby ensuring that Indo-Pak geopolitical baggage does not slow down or bog down this important regional grouping.

Northeast India as the heart of BIMSTEC and far east connectivity

By building infrastructure in the Northeast, Bharat isn’t just linking roads—it’s laying the foundation for a geopolitical shift eastward, with BIMSTEC as the vehicle.

PM Modi' in his departure statement, emphasised the Northeast’s pivotal role in the regional grouping of Bay of Bengal nations. As "the heart of BIMSTEC," Bharat’s Northeastern regions are pivotal to fostering development and enhancing connectivity. The region’s ethnic and historical links with Myanmar and Thailand strengthen BIMSTEC’s people-to-people connectivity and act as a "bridge to a prosperous and resilient Bay of Bengal community.”

Why is addressing Mohammad Yunus important?

The internal conflict within Bangladesh since last year, which led to the ouster of democratically elected Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the appointment of Muhammad Yunus as Chief Adviser to the interim government, has posed significant challenges to BIMSTEC’s vision and mission. The subsequent targeted atrocities against Bangladeshi minorities, particularly Hindus, and the growing space afforded to anti-Bharat forces risk becoming major stumbling blocks to Bharat’s eastward push and to broader regional cooperation.

Since appointing himself as Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus has made several moves, be it his provocative statements, diplomatic outreach, and strategic posturing to align closer to China, to gain the attention of New Delhi. All these in an attempt to bolster his political survival and legitimacy amid strained bilateral relations. In this context, the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Muhammad Yunus at the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok assumes vital significance, as it offered a chance to tackle these tensions head-on with the instigator of the regional and bilateral discord. Bharat’s “Neighbourhood First” policy faces challenges if it can’t manage Bangladesh, a key BIMSTEC player, effectively.

BIMSTEC is important to Bharat for several strategic, economic, and geopolitical reasons. With a combined GDP of over $5.5 trillion and a population of 1.8 billion, BIMSTEC holds the promise of trade and connectivity gains that SAARC never could. Unlike SAARC, which was paralyzed by Indo-Pak rivalry, BIMSTEC offers a platform capable of reshaping regional dynamics. Bharat has played a proactive role is strengthening BIMSTEC as the foundation for a more connected Bay of Bengal - a maritime hub.

The Bangkok Summit tested Bharat’s ability to blend assertive diplomacy with regional collaboration. By championing BIMSTEC as a forward-moving, action-oriented grouping, Bharat is positioning itself as the regional leader in a shifting, multipolar Asia—where connectivity, stability, and strategic balance are the new currencies of power.

(The author is founder of MyStartup TV)