UPSC Prelims 2025 Q92: BIMSTEC Members, Origin and Sectors Explained
Consider the following statements in respect of BIMSTEC:
I. It is a regional organization consisting of seven member States till January 2025.
II. It came into existence with the signing of the Dhaka Declaration, 1999.
III. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal are founding member States of BIMSTEC.
IV. In BIMSTEC, the subsector of 'tourism' is being led by India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- I and II
- II and III
- I and IV
- I only
Answer: (d) I only
Statement-wise explanation
- I: correct — BIMSTEC has seven member states: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka from South Asia, and Myanmar and Thailand from South-East Asia. MEA's March 2025 brief describes it as a grouping of seven member states. No country joined or left up to January 2025. Membership has stayed at seven since Nepal and Bhutan were admitted in February 2004.
- II: incorrect — BIMSTEC was created on 6 June 1997 by the Bangkok Declaration, not by a 'Dhaka Declaration, 1999'. Dhaka comes into the story only because the Permanent Secretariat has worked from Dhaka since September 2014. The statement mixes up the founding city with the secretariat city and also gives the wrong year.
- III: incorrect — There were four founding members: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. That is why the first name was 'BIST-EC'. Myanmar joined on 22 December 1997 and the name became 'BIMST-EC'. Nepal and Bhutan joined only in February 2004, so Nepal is not a founding member.
- IV: incorrect — The 5th Summit in Colombo (30 March 2022) cut the 14 old sectors down to seven pillars, each led by one member. Tourism is now a sub-sector of the People-to-People Contacts pillar, which Nepal leads. India leads the Security pillar, which covers counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy security. India did lead Tourism under the old 14-sector system (MEA brief, June 2020), so the statement uses outdated information.
How to eliminate
Statement III is the easiest to check. The old acronym BIST-EC lists the four founders (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand), and Nepal clearly joined later because its letter is not in it. Once III is out, every option that contains III goes. Statement I is true from basic knowledge: BIMSTEC has seven members. That leaves the options with I in them. Statement II can be rejected if you remember that the Bangkok Declaration of 1997 founded BIMSTEC and that Dhaka is only the secretariat's city. The final choice turns on Statement IV, and you have to know this fact. After the 2022 restructuring into seven pillars, India leads Security and Nepal leads People-to-People Contacts, which includes tourism. Many older notes still say 'India leads tourism', which is exactly what the question is testing. Fact to remember: since 2022, India leads Security only, and the tourism sub-sector falls under Nepal.
Know more
BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) links South Asia with South-East Asia. Its members live around the Bay of Bengal: about 1.7 billion people, roughly 22% of the world's population (MEA, 2025).
How it grew
- 6 June 1997: Bangkok Declaration creates BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand).
- 22 December 1997: Myanmar joins, and the name becomes BIMST-EC.
- February 2004: Nepal and Bhutan join, and the name becomes BIMSTEC.
- 2014: Permanent Secretariat opens in Dhaka.
- 30 March 2022 (5th Summit, Colombo): BIMSTEC Charter adopted. It entered into force on 20 May 2024, which gave the grouping legal standing as a regional organisation.
- 4 April 2025 (6th Summit, Bangkok): Bangkok Vision 2030 and the Maritime Transport Agreement adopted.
Summits: 2004 Bangkok, 2008 New Delhi, 2014 Nay Pyi Taw, 2018 Kathmandu, 2022 Colombo, 2025 Bangkok.
Seven pillars and lead countries (since 2022)
| Pillar | Lead | Main sub-sectors |
|---|---|---|
| Trade, Investment & Development | Bangladesh | Blue economy |
| Environment & Climate Change | Bhutan | Mountain economy |
| Security | India | Counter-terrorism & transnational crime, disaster management, energy |
| Agriculture & Food Security | Myanmar | Agriculture, fisheries, livestock |
| People-to-People Contacts | Nepal | Tourism, culture, poverty alleviation |
| Science, Technology & Innovation | Sri Lanka | Technology, health, human resources |
| Connectivity | Thailand | Transport links |
Before 2022 there were 14 sectors. India led four of them: counter-terrorism, transport & communication, tourism, and environment & disaster management.
India's institutions: the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate (Noida) and the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (Bengaluru). For India, BIMSTEC serves both 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East'. It also offers a way to work with the region at a time when SAARC is largely inactive.
In the news
Thailand hosted the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on 4 April 2025, about seven weeks before Prelims. The summit adopted the Bangkok Vision 2030 and a Maritime Transport Agreement. The BIMSTEC Charter had entered into force on 20 May 2024, and the restructured seven-pillar framework was in use, so membership, origin and sector leadership were all likely to be tested.