PM leaves for Myanmar tomorrow for BIMSTEC Summit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves for Myanmar tomorrow to attend the BIMSTEC Summit where he is expected to make a strong pitch for giving a fillip to India's Look East policy and explore ways to enhance connectivity, transport, trade, tourism and other linkages to all the northeastern states.

In what could be his last foreign trip as Prime Minister in this tenure, Singh is likely to use his two-day visit to renew contacts with leaders of the seven-member Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which will hold its summit on March 4 in Myanmar capital Nay Pyi Taw.

BIMSTEC is an expression of India's Look East Policy of the 1990s, coinciding with Thailand's Look West Policy. The seven members-- India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal-- bring together over 20 per cent of the world population, which is about 1.5 billion, and a GDP of over $2.5 trillion.

One cannot underestimate the potential of BIMSTEC in bringing the fruits of these cross connectivity linkages to the northeastern states, says Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh.

"It is in our interest to make sure that our northeast does not fall behind, that it develops as well in a manner that is commensurate to its potential so that when the connectivity happens and the roads and everything else gets connected, we are able to develop in parallel if not faster and exploit the potential," she said.

With some sticky issues still to be resolved, it may take some time for the grouping to wrap up a free trade pact.

"FTA negotiations are processes that take time. The BIMSTEC negotiation is particularly complex because it already encompasses countries which have FTA under the SAFTA process, and then you have other countries that belong to ASEAN. Taking all this into account, we have to arrive at an outcome that is optimal for India as well as for them. So, this is going to take some time," she said.

A Framework Agreement for BIMSTEC Free Trade Area was signed in Phuket, Thailand in February, 2004, which commits the parties to negotiate FTAs in goods, services and investments.

An agreement on Trade in Goods and other provisions relating to rules of origin, operational certification procedures and pact on Customs cooperation was finalised in June, 2009. India has exchanged its tariff preference schedules with member countries.