S. Asian states, Thailand launch economic forum

S. Asian states, Thailand launch economic forum

BANGKOK (DPA): A new regional forum linking Thailand to
Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka was launched yesterday with the
broad goal of boosting economic cooperation in the Bay of Bengal
region.

The new grouping has not committed itself to intra-regional
tariff reductions.

Senior ministers from the four countries gathered in Bangkok
June 4-6 to hash out the terms of reference for Asia's latest
acronym, BIST-EC, which immediately announced plans to promote
tourism in a region that encompassed the so-called "Buddha Belt"
because of their common religious and cultural heritage.

"Our four countries share a common historical heritage. We now
must make the past relevant to the present," said Pitak
Intrawityanunt, Thailand's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Bangkok Declaration officially launched the Bangladesh,
India, Sri Lanka, Thailand - Economic Cooperation (BIST-EC), yet
another regional grouping devoted to promoting mutual economic
prosperity.

Burma, or Myanmar, attended the signing ceremony as an
"observer" and has been invited to join the new grouping when it
is ready.

It was decided that the BIST-EC secretariat would be based in
Bangkok, which initiated the BIST-EC concept as part of the Thai
government's "look West" policy adopted in 1994.

Thailand aspires to become a bridge between the economies of
South Asia and the dynamic Southeast Asian region, currently
grouped under the 30 year-old Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).

Although essentially a Thai initiative India has thrown its
considerable economic weight behind the BIST-EC idea.

"It was Thailand that conceived this idea, and it was
Thailand's vision, but India is going to play a very important
role in making that vision a reality, " said Salaam Iqbal
Shewrvani, Indian Minister of State.

"We have decided to prepare a concept paper on tourism and on
the possibility of starting an airline between our countries
which will service the Buddhist route," he added.

Thailand originally invited Myanmar, part of Bay of Bengal
neighborhood, to join the new forum, but Yangon declined.

Myanmar's military regime, however, changed its tune over the
weekend after learning of its pending acceptance into ASEAN, a
much older grouping that wields considerable economic and
political clout.

Despite Yangon's pariah status among western democracies,
Thailand has insisted on the importance of its membership in
BIST-EC, which will eventually tackle trade and investment
issues.

"They (Myanmar) are part of the Bay of Bengal. This area,
these five countries, are linked together already," said Pitak.