First BIMSTEC Youth Summit held in Gandhinagar

Why in the news?

• The first BIMSTEC Youth Summit was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• This conference was held at Mahatma Mandir Convention Center
• Its objective was to empower youth leadership, promote innovation and strengthen regional cooperation among BIMSTEC member countries.
• More than 60% of the 1.8 billion population of the BIMSTEC region are youth, who play an important role in shaping the future of the region.

Importance of the conference and future direction

• A historic platform to inspire youth, develop leadership capacity and promote innovation.
• An effort to provide new strength to cooperation among BIMSTEC member countries.
• Important initiative towards regional economic empowerment through startups, digital infrastructure and skill development.
• This conference will prove to be a milestone to promote youth leadership, strengthen regional development and accelerate innovation.

BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

• BIMSTEC is a regional organization that includes the coastal countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal.
• Its objective is to promote economic, social, and technical cooperation among member countries.

Establishment:-

• BIMSTEC was established in the year 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

Secretariat:-

• Dhaka, Bangladesh

Member countries (7 members):-

1.  Bangladesh
2.  Bhutan
3.  India
4.  Nepal
5.  Sri Lanka
6.  Myanmar
7.  Thailand

It comprises 5 members of SAARC and 2 members of ASEAN.

• BIMSTEC was initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand- Economic Cooperation).
• It became BIMSTEC after Myanmar (1997), Bhutan (2004), and Nepal (2004) joined it.

Objectives of BIMSTEC:-

1. Accelerate economic development: Promote trade and investment.
2. Enhance cooperation in economic, social, technological and scientific fields.
3. Improve assistance: Educational, vocational and technical training.
4. Effective cooperation: Maintain cooperation with international and regional organizations.
5. Maintain peace and stability: Combat terrorism, organized crime, natural disasters, climate change and communicable diseases.
6. Improve social progress: Promote poverty alleviation efforts.
7. Develop connectivity: Enhance regional connectivity for economic integration.