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Strengthening regional cooperation is essential to addressing growing global challenges, BIMSTEC Secretary-General Indra Mani Pandey has said, highlighting the bloc’s expanding efforts across connectivity, energy, and climate resilience.
In an interview ahead of a three-day meeting of national security chiefs in New Delhi, Pandey emphasized that ongoing global tensions, particularly in the Middle East, have intensified pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide.
In this context, he noted, regional collaboration has become more crucial than ever.
“Regional cooperation is the most effective way to deal with challenges related to energy, food security, trade, and supply systems,” Pandey said, adding that BIMSTEC is actively advancing cooperation in priority sectors identified by its member states.
He pointed to the inclusion of the “blue economy” as a relatively new area of collaboration, aimed at enhancing sustainable use of ocean resources among member countries.
Efforts are also underway to strengthen connectivity, following the approval of a comprehensive transport master plan in 2022.
According to Pandey, the plan—reviewed last year with support from the Asian Development Bank—has already seen about 60 percent of its projects implemented.
These initiatives span not only road and land transport but also maritime links, aviation, digital connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges.
The BIMSTEC chief also underscored the organization’s commitment to addressing climate change and disaster management.
Member countries, he said, are working together to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and adopt adaptation strategies to cope with the adverse impacts of climate and weather changes.
“All BIMSTEC members are affected by climate change,” Pandey noted. “We are focusing on both adaptation measures and mitigation efforts, alongside strengthening disaster management cooperation.”
He added that deeper regional integration would contribute to broader Indo-Pacific goals while promoting the welfare and development of people across all seven BIMSTEC member states.
BIMSTEC, which includes Bangladesh and six other countries in the Bay of Bengal region, continues to position itself as a key platform for regional collaboration in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world.