Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Diplomatist July 19 Edition . | Page 26

SPOTLIGHT
WHY IS INDIA EYING
BIMSTEC NOW?
BY DR. PRAMOD JAISWAL*
T
he Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the
leaders of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
countries during the second term of his swearing-in ceremony.
During his fi rst swearing-in ceremony in 2014, he had invited
the leaders of the SAARC (South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation) countries. It clearly indicates that
India will prioritize BIMSTEC over SAARC.
Why this Shift?
The invitation of the heads of the states of SAARC
countries, including Pakistan, to the first swearing-in-
ceremony in 2014 clarifi ed that he would give priority to his
neighbours. He refl ected his ‘Neighbourhood First policy’
through action by starting his foreign visits from Bhutan
and Nepal. He visited Nepal three times in four years while
no Indian Prime Minister had paid any visit in the last 17
years. He made a surprise visit to Pakistan on his way back
from Afghanistan. However, there were a series of the cross-
border terror attack at Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama. It not
only jeopardized India’s ‘Neighbourhood First policy’ but
put India-Pakistan relations on freeze. The 19th SAARC
summit that was to be held in Islamabad got cancelled as
India withdrew from it stating that “talks and terror cannot
go together”. Hence, India’s shift from SAARC to BIMSTEC
was primarily to isolate Pakistan and pressurize it to stop
encouraging and providing sanctuary to terrorists involved
in terror attacks in India.
SAARC, SAFTA, (South Asian Free Trade Area) and
SAPTA (SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement) have not
made much progress in the last three decades. It has failed to
tap the benefi ts due to India-Pakistan rivalry. The volume of
bilateral trade between India and Pakistan is very low, ranging
between a mere 2 to 3 per cent of each country’s total trade
that is also concentrated into a few commodities. The SAARC
intra-regional trade stands at just 5 percent of the total share
of intra-regional trade of South Asia. Similarly, foreign direct
investment is also dismal, which is 4 percent of the total
26 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 7 • July 2019, Noida