Even though the Bay of Bengal is known for its turbulence, no regional mechanism yet exists in the Bay for collective disaster mitigation. However since the 2016, BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit there has been resurgence of initiatives for reintegration amongst BIMSTEC members opined M. Shahidul Islam, Secretary General of BIMSTEC while delivering the Inaugural Keynote at the Kolkata Colloquium 2019 on Reimagining BIMSTEC. Organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Centre for New Economic Diplomacy and Department for International Development, UK, the Kolkata Colloquium was a two-day international conference held on 28 and 29 November 2019 at The LaLiT Great Eastern Hotel, Kolkata, India. As the first of ORF Kolkata’s flagship annual event, it hosted fifty one participants from BIMSTEC member countries and beyond ranging from academics, thinkers, policy makers, journalists to other important stakeholders.

Although established 22 years ago in 1997 and lying mostly idle, the resurgence of strategic and economic interests in the Bay as part the Indo-Pacific has caused the BIMSTEC, a sub-regional grouping of the Bay littorals, to gain traction. Gauging the significance of this opportune moment, the Colloquium sought to explore the brand value of BIMSTEC, its opportunities for wider collaboration through a “BIMSTEC Plus” and the prevalent narratives within the organisation.

Accordingly the Colloquium hosted four business sessions on ‘Maritime connectivity and significance of the Bay of Bengal’, ‘Climate change, disaster management and BIMSTEC’, ‘Enhancing trade: Engaging members in BIMSTEC’ and ‘Historical and Cultural Linkages within BIMSTEC.’ Through four panel discussions the Colloquium also explored the themes of ‘Connecting nations within BIMSTEC,’ ‘RCEP and BIMSTEC: Can the two tango?,’ ‘Future of BIMSTEC within the geostrategic narrative of the Indo-Pacific’ and ‘Assessing the Media: BIMSTEC in Perspective.’

As a special highlight the Colloquium featured three interactive sessions entitled ‘Conversation with Bertil Lintner’ — Correspondent Asia Times, Hong Kong moderated by Suhashini Haidar, Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu, New Delhi, India, an ‘Interactive session on Global warming, climate change, disaster management and BIMSTEC with Jayanta Bandopadhyay, Visiting Distinguished Fellow, ORF, Kolkata, India and Sugata Hazra and another ‘Interactive Session on Media’ with Soe Myint, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director, Mizzima Media Company, Myanmar and Chandni Jayatilleke, Group Editor Business, Lake House, Colombo, Sri Lanka, chaired by Subir Bhaumik, former BBC Correspondent, Kolkata, India. The Colloquium also conducted a workshop on ‘BIMSTEC: Media’s Assessment.’

The Colloquium concluded with the Valedictory Address by C. Raja Mohan, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. He remarked that it is unrealistic to hope that the member countries of BIMSTEC will undertake national policies for the benefit of the organisation. Rather their policies would rather be determined by the aspirations, compulsions and circumstances these countries face in the larger global order and the subsequent choices they make. Institutions can only do as much as its members allow it to undertake. However, a lot is also possible in the region even without the success of negotiated agreements within the institution. At this pivotal moment, there is thus room for broader thinking and more collaborative initiatives which are not tied by narrow decision making.