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BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministers Meet UPSC Relevance
BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministers Meet: BIMSTEC is an important regional grouping which serves India’s geo-political interests in the region, especially when SAARC is defunct due to Pakistan’s misadventures. BIMSTEC is important for UPSC Prelims Exam (International News) and UPSC Mains Exam (International Relations- Regional Groupings).
BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministers Meet in News
- Recently, India hosted the Second Agriculture Ministerial-level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
- Agriculture ministers of India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the BIMSTEC meeting 2022.
BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministers Meeting 2022 Outcomes
- Action Plan to Strengthen Cooperation: The 2nd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministerial Meeting adopted the Action Plan for Strengthening BIMSTEC Agricultural Cooperation (2023-2027).
- MoU to Promote Fisheries Sector: An MoU between the BIMSTEC Secretariat and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has been signed and approval has been given to bring Fisheries and Livestock sub-sectors under the Agricultural Working Group.
- Appreciation for India’s Role: BIMSTEC member countries appreciated India’s efforts to strengthen cooperation in agricultural research and development and for awarding six scholarships each for postgraduate and PhD programmes in agriculture.
BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF)
Key Points about BIMSTEC Countries
- About: The BIMSTEC was founded in 1997 to provide a unique link between South and South-East Asia towards cooperative and collaborative development across various sectors.
- BIMSTEC Members: BIMSTEC is a seven member grouping which consists of 5 countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka from South Asia and two countries – Myanmar and Thailand from South-East Asia.
- Cooperative areas: The countries came together as one platform for cooperation in 14 key economic and social sectors of the economy.
- Initially, six sectors- trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries were included for sectoral cooperation which was later expanded to 14 areas of cooperation.
- BIMSTEC Headquarter: BIMSTEC headquarters at Kathmandu, Nepal.
- BIMSTEC New Secretary General: Tenzin Lekphell.
- Objective: To pursue mutual trade, connectivity, and cultural, technical, and economic development in the region.
- BIMSTEC Full Form: BIMSTEC Stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
- BIMSTEC 2022 Summit: The 5th BIMSTEC Summit was hosted in virtual mode by Sri Lanka, the current chair of BIMSTEC.
- BIMSTEC 2022 Theme: The 5th BIMSTEC Summit’s theme is “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People”.
BIMSTEC Expert Group on Cyber Security Cooperation
BIMSTEC FAQs
- When was BIMSTEC grouping formed?
Ans. BIMSTEC was founded in 1997.
- What is BIMSTEC Full Form?
Ans. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is the full form of BIMSTEC.
- How many countries are there in BIMSTEC Grouping?
Ans. BIMSTEC Grouping consists of seven countries belong to South Asia (5) and South-east Asia (2).
- Which countries are members of BIMSTEC Grouping.
Ans. BIMSTEC Consists of seven countries which are- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.