On 2- 4 March 2014, Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed Thailand's delegation to the 3rd Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit and related meetings in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The Prime Minister of Thailand had entrusted the Permanent Secretary to represent her as Special Envoy to the Summit. The Permanent Secretary was also entrusted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to represent him at the 14th Ministerial Meeting.
The Summit, under the theme "Partnership for Harmony and Prosperity," was also attended the leaders of other BIMSTEC member countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

At the Summit, the Special Envoy reaffirmed the strong commitment of Thailand to promoting economic and social development for the peoples of BIMSTEC. Thailand has been working closely with other Members to strengthen cooperation in all areas of activity within the framework of BIMSTEC, as well as respond to the new opportunities and challenges in the region and the world at large. The Special Envoy urged the early conclusion of a BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement and enhanced regional connectivity, to unlock the full benefits of the grouping's economic ties and help rebalance Asian growth toward domestic and regional markets. He suggested BIMSTEC should embrace green growth, while promoting innovation and accelerating the dissemination of green technology as a way to ensure sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development.

The Special Envoy emphasized the importance of people-centred development cooperation. He suggested the promotion of technology and knowledge transfer in the areas of food security, environment and health. He supported the role of the BIMSTEC Business Forum in promoting active cooperation amongst the private sector, which will result in economic development and reduce poverty and development gaps in the region.

The Special Envoy noted the region is in urgent need to boost resilience against natural disasters as climate change triggers new threats and could derail the region's economic growth. He welcomed the setting up of the BIMSTEC Weather and Climate Centre and encouraged the Centre to coordinate with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) in Thailand. The Special Envoy expressed his concern on the issue of increasing food wastage, in particular during production and post-production processes. He emphasized Thailand's readiness to share technical and expertise on good agricultural practices and food storage technology to ensure food security in the region. The Special Envoy also suggested that the meeting explore the possibility of a BIMSTEC emergency rice reserve scheme, which could be along the lines of the ASEAN+3 framework.

BIMSTEC has reached another milestone as the Members have signed the Memorandum of Association on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh and appointed Mr. Sumith Nakadala of Sri Lanka as the first Secretary General of BIMSTEC. The establishment of the permanent BIMSTEC Secretariat will provide greater efficiency in the coordination in the rapid growing activities of BIMSTEC and effective implementation follow-up.

At the Summit, the leaders also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Association among BIMSTEC Member Countries Concerning Establishment of the Centre for Weather and Climate in Noida, India; and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission (BCIC) and BIMSTEC Cultural Industrial Observatory (BCIO) in Bhutan. The leaders also adopted the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit Declaration which underscored the efforts of the Members in accomplishing the founding aims and purposes of BIMSTEC contained in the 1997 Bangkok Declaration.

At the Senior Officials' Meeting and the Ministerial Meeting prior to the Summit, Member States reviewed the progress in all 14 priority areas of cooperation. Thailand, as the lead country in Fisheries, Public Health and People-to-People Contact sectors, highlighted its cooperation activities and projects that enhance cooperation in these areas.

In Fisheries, the Department of Fisheries of Thailand has contributed to  sustainable use of marine resources through effective conservation and management of resources by organizing training programmes on aquatic plants tissue culture and workshops on sustainable fisheries regularly during the past 8 years. The Department made plans to conduct a series of training programmes on biotechnology in aquaculture in the years to come.

In Public Health, the Ministry of Public Health has been promoting cooperation on traditional medicine and plans to host the 3rd BIMSTEC Meeting on the Network of National Centres of Coordination in Traditional Medicine in 2015.
Regarding people-to-people contact and raising public awareness of BIMSTEC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with Chiang Mai University, organized an International Conference on BIMSTEC Connectivity and People to People Contact in Chiang Mai in 2012 and plans to host the 2nd Meeting the BIMSTEC Network of Think Tanks in 2014. 

Thailand has also played an active role in the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement negotiations, in developing good agricultural practices, including organic agriculture, in promoting energy security and cooperation and in combating terrorism and transnational crime.  

BIMSTEC was initiated in 1997, with a vision to combine the 'Look West' policy of Thailand and ASEAN with the 'Look East' policy of India and South Asia. The purposes of BIMSTEC are to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development, and accelerate social progress in the sub-region. BIMSTEC also aims to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest, and provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities. It emphasizes collaborative efforts, projects and activities that are supportive of and complementary to the national development plans of member states. BIMSTEC also maintains close cooperation with international and regional organizations and cooperates on projects that can be dealt with most productively on a sub-regional basis and which make best use of available synergies.

The First BIMSTEC Summit took place in Bangkok in 2004 and the Second Summit was in 2008 in New Delhi. Nepal will assume the next Chairmanship of BIMSTEC after the Summit in Nay Pyi Taw.

BIMSTEC has evolved into a strong regional cooperation framework, with a quarter of the world's population, combined growth domestic product (GDP) of 2,467 billion US dollars and average economic growth of 6.4% in 2012.