Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation BIMSTEC | |
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Secretariat | Dhaka, Bangladesh[1] |
Official language | English |
Membership | |
Leaders | |
• Chairmanship | ![]() |
• Secretary General | ![]() |
Establishment | 6 June 1997 |
Area | |
• | 4,876,941 km2 (1,882,997 sq mi) (7th) |
Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 1,723,388,648[4] |
• Density | 353.37/km2 (915.2/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | ![]() |
Website bimstec |
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of US$5.2 trillion (2023).[6][7] The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand[8] – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors.[6][9] A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), referred to as similar to SAARC.
Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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