Future of BIMSTEC and SAARC - Amb Rajiv Bhatia скачать в хорошем качестве

Future of BIMSTEC and SAARC - Amb Rajiv Bhatia

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia is a Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Gateway House. He is Chair of FICCI’s Core Group of Experts on BIMSTEC and its Task Force on the Blue Economy. He is a founding member of the Kalinga International Foundation. As Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) from 2012-15, he played a key role in strengthening India's Track-II research and outreach activities. During a 37-year innings in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he served as Ambassador to Myanmar and Mexico and as High Commissioner to Kenya and South Africa. He dealt with a part of South Asia, while posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. A prolific columnist, who has also written a critically acclaimed book, India-Myanmar Relations: Changing Contours (Routledge), he is a frequent speaker on foreign policy issues in India and abroad. He was Senior Visiting Research Fellow during 2011-13 at the Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Allahabad University. Questions 1. There has been an issue of a ‘lack of visibility’ of BIMSTEC. You have yourself held a position that we have to be realistic in our expectations when it comes to BIMSTEC and engage at a much deeper level. Do you think that the pace at which BIMSTEC has been reviving is going to be adversely affected in the post-COVID-19 scenario, or are there better opportunities for cooperation since there are going to be common issues to deal with? 2. Though SAARC has often been considered obsolete, Prime Minister Modi has sought to resurrect it. Most recently, he initiated a virtual SAARC summit in March this year and member countries (except Pakistan) pledged to contribute to SAARC COVID-19 emergency fund to deal with the pandemic situation. Your view is that, it is high time we look at BIMSTEC and SAARC as separate yet complimentary chapters, non-competing in nature and therefore each should progress as exclusive multilateral platforms (Brookings India Seminar, 2018). a) Firstly, should we assume that New Delhi has a similar position as yours? b) Secondly, to what extent do see other members thinking and acting similarly on this? 3. You have been an Ambassador in Myanmar and have written a book that has been critically acclaimed. How big concern, do you think China’s presence in Myanmar should be for the region? For instance, given that China has reached to the Indian Ocean via Kyaukphu deep sea port, or more recently, that China felt the urgency to pursue the CMEC implementation even during the COVID-19 crisis (on May 6th through a meeting of Ambassador of China with Deputy Minister for Planning Finance and Industry). 4. Where do you locate Nepal in the SAARC as well as the BIMSTEC narrative? Please give us your perspective and how you think Nepal can play a crucial role in the context? 5. We have seen some ‘green shoots’ (in your words, in an article in 2018) in regards to BIMSTEC in the last few years. A BIMSTEC secretariat was set up in 2014, there are talks about the FTA gaining some ground, the sectors of engagement have been narrowed to 5 more focused areas compared to the 16 originally enumerated. What should we make of these developments in the context of multilateral cooperation in the region, particularly for Nepal? 6. Nepalese PM Bidya Devi Bhandari visited Myanmar last year, the first by a head of government from Nepal in 39 years. Do you believe bilateral engagements and cooperation can translate into increased efficiency at a multilateral level? #BIMSTEC #SAARC #covid19 #FTA #Myanmar