On 30 March 2022, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha attended the 5th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) today virtually, at which Sri Lanka handed over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC to Thailand and pathbreaking achievements have been reached.

The leaders of BIMSTEC member states, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, have resolved to elevate BIMSTEC collaboration to a higher plain by signing the BIMSTEC Charter, granting it a status of an intergovernmental organization and thus enhancing its visibility and credibility at international level. The meeting also adopted key documents and decisions that will yield tangible results for all, including the BIMSTEC Master Plan on Transport Connectivity, which had been proposed by Thailand at the last summit in 2018 in Nepal. As the new Lead Country in Connectivity, the BIMSTEC Summit has now paved a way for Thailand to play an ever more prominent role in enhancing inter-regional connectivity that will underpin Thailand’s role as bridge-builder, transport hub and business linkage between Southeast and South Asia and between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

BIMSTEC is one of the largest regional cooperation frameworks worldwide in terms of population, the size of economy and economic potentials.
It is a region of increasing strategic, economic and commercial importance that enjoyed peace and steady development since its inception in 1997 in Bangkok. As Chair of BIMSTEC, Thailand will closely work with all Member States towards realizing the vision the Prime Minister of Thailand presented at the summit: for Prosperous, Resilient and Robust, Open BIMSTEC or “PRO BIMSTEC”, while incorporating the BCG Economy Model as a guiding concept in each sector of cooperation.

Upon assuming the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC, Thailand, also as the host economy of APEC, is now at the driver’s seat in two economic cooperation frameworks that encompass almost 70% of the global GDP. In this unique position, Thailand is committed to tirelessly working with all partners for a robust post-pandemic economic recovery, closer business and people-to-people ties and inclusive and sustainable growth for the benefits of our peoples and beyond.