The Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has emerged as a prominent regional organization with increasing geopolitical and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific. The 2025 BIMSTEC Summit, recently held in Bangkok, Thailand, signaled potential shifts in regional cooperation strategies. Here, we argue that a paradigm shift is essential for BIMSTEC to evolve into a more effective regional body.

Using a theoretical framework based on Regional Integration Theory and Constructivism, we can explore key dimensions to demonstrate the urgency and direction of this much-needed transformation. The geopolitical landscape of South and Southeast Asia is rapidly evolving, necessitating a rethink on regional cooperation mechanisms. BIMSTEC, comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, was initially established to promote economic and technical cooperation.

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However, persistent institutional weaknesses and inconsistent political will have limited its potential. The 2025 BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok took place at a crucial time when member states were grappling with post-pandemic recovery, environmental crises, and significant geopolitical realignments. These include internal turmoil in Bangladesh and Myanmar on one hand, and on the other, the shadow of war between Russia and Ukraine, the unresolved Palestinian issue, and the resurgence of Donald Trump’s tariff-centric policies affecting global trade, all adding to a growing sense of a looming conflict narrative.

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Against this backdrop, the 2025 summit provides a strategic opportunity to rethink and refra me BIMSTEC’s vision and functions. The need for a paradigm shift, therefore, is not merely notionally wishful but pragmatic and imperative, necessitated by the demands of a changing world. For any discussion to be meaningful, we link it to two theoretical perspectives: Regional Integration Theory and constructivism. RIT derived from the works of Ernst Haas and others, posits that economic interdependence leads to political cooperation, eventually fostering supranational institutions.

BIMSTEC’s evolution mirrors this trajectory as it gravitates increasingly from technical cooperation to broader political coordination. Constructivism, on the other hand, emphasizes the role of identities and shared values in international relations. The rise of cultural diplomacy and people-to people contact within BIMSTEC exemplifies this approach of shared history and prosperity. These theories thus help us understand BIMSTEC’s........

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