Do you think that BIMSTEC is a parallel organisation like the SAARC? What are the similarities and dissimilarities between the two? How are Indian foreign policy objectives realized by forming this new organisation?
Approach · directive: “do you think / what / how”
What it asks · Three parts: whether BIMSTEC parallels SAARC, how the two resemble and differ, and how BIMSTEC serves India's foreign-policy objectives.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Do you think: whether BIMSTEC is a parallel organisation to SAARC; take a position
- What: the similarities and dissimilarities between the two
- How: the Indian foreign-policy objectives realised through BIMSTEC
Open with · BIMSTEC, set up on 6 June 1997 by the Bangkok Declaration, links five South Asian and two Southeast Asian states around the Bay of Bengal; SAARC (1985) covers eight South Asian states and has stalled since its last summit in 2014.
Cover
- Parallel or complement? BIMSTEC complements SAARC, though its rise after SAARC's stalling (last summit 2014) makes it look like a substitute.
- Similarities: regional groupings of developing states, run by summits and secretariats (Dhaka and Kathmandu), seeking trade, connectivity and poverty reduction.
- Membership: BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Maldives and adds Myanmar and Thailand, bridging South and Southeast Asia.
- Approach: BIMSTEC is sector-driven (transport, energy, security, trade, disaster management) and adopted a Charter in 2022; SAARC's charter bars bilateral disputes, yet they stalled it.
- India's objectives: Neighbourhood First and Act East, a bridge to Southeast Asia, Northeast development through Kaladan and the Trilateral Highway, and a forum without Pakistan.
- Also: Bay of Bengal maritime and energy security, counter-terrorism, disaster response, and balance against China's regional presence.
- Challenges: slow free-trade talks, thin intra-regional trade, funding gaps, Myanmar's political crisis, and bilateral frictions.
Close with · BIMSTEC is a functional complement to SAARC; with its Charter adopted at Colombo on 30 March 2022, India should make it a hub of Bay of Bengal connectivity and trade, not a political substitute.
Add value (verified)
- BIMSTEC was set up in 1997 and has seven members, five in South Asia and two (Myanmar and Thailand) in Southeast Asia.History — BIMSTEC Secretariat ↗“the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven Member States with the admission of Myanmar on 22 December 1997, and Bhutan and Nepal in February 2004”
- BIMSTEC's Secretariat was set up in Dhaka in 2014, after a decision of the Third Summit.History - BIMSTEC Secretariat ↗“Following a decision at the Third BIMSTEC Summit in 2014, the BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in that same year”
- Each BIMSTEC member leads a sector; India leads Security, with sub-sectors counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy.History - BIMSTEC Secretariat ↗“India Security Sub-sectors: Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Disaster Management, Energy”
- BIMSTEC was established on 6 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.History - BIMSTEC Secretariat ↗“is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.”
- BIMSTEC leaders signed and adopted the BIMSTEC Charter at the Fifth Summit (Colombo) on 30 March 2022.BIMSTEC Leaders sign and adopt the BIMSTEC Charter during the Fifth Summit on 30 March 2022 - BIMSTEC Secretariat ↗“BIMSTEC Leaders sign and adopt the BIMSTEC Charter during the Fifth Summit on 30 March 2022”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS
BIMSTEC, set up on 6 June 1997 by the Bangkok Declaration, links five South Asian and two Southeast Asian states around the Bay of Bengal. SAARC (1985) covers eight South Asian states, but has stalled since its last summit in 2014.
Is BIMSTEC a parallel SAARC?
- Complement, not copy: a different geography and a sector-driven agenda; it only looks like a substitute because SAARC stalled.
Similarities and dissimilarities
- Similar aims: both are groupings of developing states seeking trade, connectivity and poverty reduction through summits and secretariats.
| Aspect | SAARC | BIMSTEC |
|---|---|---|
| Members | 8, incl. Pakistan | 7, incl. Myanmar, Thailand |
| Secretariat | Kathmandu | Dhaka (2014) |
| Method | Broad regional agenda | Sector-led, India leads Security |
- Disputes: SAARC's charter bars bilateral disputes, yet India–Pakistan tensions stalled it; BIMSTEC adopted its own Charter only in 2022.
India's objectives through BIMSTEC
- Neighbourhood First meets Act East: a bridge from South to Southeast Asia.
- Northeast development: the Kaladan project and the Trilateral Highway.
- Bay of Bengal security: maritime and energy security, counter-terrorism, disaster response, and a balance to China.
- No veto: a regional forum free of Pakistan's obstruction.
- Hurdles: slow free-trade talks, thin intra-regional trade, funding gaps and Myanmar's crisis.
BIMSTEC is a functional complement to SAARC. With its Charter adopted at Colombo on 30 March 2022, India should make it a hub of Bay of Bengal connectivity and trade, not a political substitute.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
