Skip to main content

First ever ‘BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave will be held at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

First ever ‘BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave will be held at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Significance:
  • The Conclave will explore the possibility of increasing economic cooperation by furthering EXIM trade and coastal shipping.
  • It will also discuss various investment opportunities, best practices adopted for productivity and safety at Ports.

What is BIMSTEC?
In an effort to integrate the region, the grouping was formed in 1997, originally with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and later included Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
BIMSTEC, which now includes five countries from South Asia and two from ASEAN, is a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes all the major countries of South Asia, except Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Why the region matters?
  1. The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world. Over one-fifth (22%) of the world’s population live in the seven countries around it, and they have a combined GDP close to $2.7 trillion.
  2. Despite economic challenges, all the countries in the region have been able to sustain average annual rates of economic growth between 3.4% and 7.5% from 2012 to 2016.
  3. The Bay also has vast untapped natural resources. One-fourth of the world’s traded goods cross the Bay every year.

India’s stake:
  1. As the region’s largest economy, India has a lot at stake. BIMSTEC connects not only South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.
  2. For India, it is a natural platform to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighborhood First’ and ‘Act East’.
  3. For New Delhi, one key reason for engagement is in the vast potential that is unlocked with stronger connectivity. Roughly one-quarter of India’s population, live in the four coastal states adjacent to the Bay of Bengal (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal). And, about 45 million people, who live in landlocked Northeastern states, will have the opportunity to connect via the Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, opening up possibilities in terms of development.
  4. From the strategic perspective, the Bay of Bengal, a funnel to the Malacca straits, has emerged a key theatre for an increasingly assertive China in maintaining its access route to the Indian Ocean.
  5. Besides, as China mounts assertive activities in the Bay of Bengal region, with increased submarine movement and ship visits in the Indian Ocean, it is in India’s interest to consolidate its internal engagement among the BIMSTEC countries.

Sources: the Hindu.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love and It's Type

By  Meredith Shirey, MS, LMFT As a therapist specializing in  relationship issues , I often see people in therapy existentially contemplating what  love  really means. Some wonder whether they truly love(d) their partner, or if their partner truly loves/loved them. These are complicated questions because they often require defining “true love.” This is, of course, a subjective venture; love may look and feel different to different people. But in considering such questions for yourself, it may be helpful to think about love on a couple of levels: ego love and authentic love (often referred to as “soul love”). Ego Love When we determine we have fallen in love with someone, this is often done based on  euphoric  feelings of infatuation. We think about the person constantly, craving connection with them both physically and emotionally. We want to know their thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs. We want to know about their past, be in their prese...
Post a Comment
Read more

Importance of ‘Consistency’ – Why you MUST Stay Consistent!

 No matter how much talented you are, how much hard working you are, how much smart you are – if there is no consistency in your preparation for this exam (UPSC civil services), you will either fail or unnecessarily prolong this journey making it stressful, burdensome and frustrating.  Being consistent i.e. being regular and steadfast in what you are doing – either making notes from newspapers or from books, writing answers daily, writing essays weekly, solving test papers from test series once in a week or ten days – is the ONLY solution to all your problems. Your problems range from self-doubt to under-confidence to lack of motivation throughout this journey. Once you start procrastinating and being irregular in your studies, undone tasks pile up – creating huge mental burden. This undermines confidence as you can not focus either on future task or on the older one. Eventually you will start a new plan or strategy to suit your present predicament. This cycle continue...
Post a Comment
Read more

More about object-oriented programming

  Note: This reading contains only a brief introduction to object-oriented programming. A more detailed discussion about the nuances of object oriented programming is beyond the scope of this course. Previously, we identified object-oriented programming as a programming schema that is based around objects, which can contain both data and code that manipulates that data. You may recall that a class is an object’s data type that bundles data and functionality together, and you’ve encountered some examples of this class-specific functionality in the form of methods and attributes. In this reading, you’re going to learn more about object-oriented programming and how it works. Although this certificate program will not require you to define your own classes, having a basic understanding of how this process works will be very helpful when you encounter these concepts along your learning journey. Review: Attributes and methods Python classes are powerful and convenient because they come...
Post a Comment
Read more