Episode 103: BIMSTEC – The Way Ahead

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. While it was set up on 1997, it became active only in the late 2016. Recently the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi, brought out an edited volume titled BIMSTEC: The Journey and Way Forward, which examines various aspects of this grouping. We spoke to Dr Sreeradha Datta, editor of this book to discuss the organisation’s growth and success, the China factor,  the recent Myanmar coup and the Rohingya crisis, amongst other issues. Dr Datta is Centre Head and Senior Fellow, Neighbourhood Studies, VIF. She is also a Non Resident Senior Fellow at ISAS.