BIMSTEC began in Bangkok as BIST-EC and now has seven members with its Secretariat in Dhaka

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BIMSTEC began in Bangkok as BIST-EC and now has seven members with its Secretariat in Dhaka

Background

BIMSTEC was established on 6 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration in Bangkok, by representatives of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and the grouping was first called BIST-EC. It became BIMST-EC after Myanmar joined in December 1997. The name BIMSTEC was adopted at the First Summit held in Bangkok on 31 July 2004, after Nepal and Bhutan were admitted in February 2004. The seven member states are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2014, following a decision at the Third BIMSTEC Summit. Under the 2021 reorganisation of sectors, Thailand leads the Connectivity sector. Thailand's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the founding declaration for the country.

Founding declaration: Bangkok Declaration, 6 June 1997 Original name: BIST-EC Members: Seven Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 2014 Thailand's lead sector: Connectivity

Why it matters for exams: BIMSTEC's name changes, its seven members and the Dhaka Secretariat are standard questions in Indian foreign policy papers.

Kerala PSCUPSC

20 October 2026 Source: BIMSTEC Secretariat

In plain words

BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation — A seven-member regional grouping linking South Asia with Thailand and Myanmar across the Bay of Bengal.