Regional forum can push ahead minus Pakistan

The latest round of standoff between India and Pakistan has forced Delhi to boost the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Events leading to the cancellation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit in Islamabad showed how Pakistan's irresponsible behaviour can derail regional projects in the sub-continent. If this is the way Pakistan moves, the foundational objectives of Saarc will be defeated in the near future. Therefore, India is currently trying to work on a mechanism minus Pakistan so that the cooperation between South Asia and Southeast Asian nations can be strengthened.

Indeed, this will be a timely step to stall Islamabad's attempt to pull more nations in the region for mobilising support against Delhi. Simultaneously, India's persistent efforts to isolate and expose Pakistan at multilateral forums for sponsoring cross-border terrorism from its soil, have received wide support. The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) event in Goa will see one of the first initiatives by New Delhi to hold talks with leaders of BIMSTEC nations. As India has already had the support of some of the key nations of the Bay of the Bengal littoral like Sri lanka and Bangladesh, this formation can provide the much-needed platform for the country to expedite free trade in the resource-rich zone. Thus, for the time being, BIMSTEC can be a forum which will not be affected by Pakistan's obstinacy.

BIMSTEC was originally established in June 1997 as a platform for intra-regional cooperation between Saarc and Asean member countries which are adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. As the group represents a bridge between South and Southeast Asian nations, it holds great potential of becoming an engine of growth. It is the home to more than 1.5 billion people that constitute around 22 per cent of the global population. Also, it has a combined Gross Domestic Product of over $500 billion. Despite the global financial meltdown in recent times, the group has been able to sustain an average 6.5 per cent growth trajectory.

The prospect of the Bay of Bengal initiative emerging as a vehicle for regional cooperation has also been supported by the formation of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative in the eastern sub-continent. The BBIN, which consists of four contiguous nations, has the primary aim to build cooperation in core areas like water resources management, connectivity of power, transport and infrastructure. This will contribute to sub-regional cooperation among the four nations and extend benefits to the rest of the Southeast Asian nations as well. The BIMSTEC region has a rich history of maritime commerce covering peninsular India, Sri lanka and Southeast Asia. Beyond the traditional economic ties, the group can explore its potentials as a rich tourist destination like, that of the nations in the Caribbean zone.