The BIMSTEC, a regional grouping of seven countries, is set to adopt a charter at its virtual summit on Wednesday that will lay out the basic institutional architecture for expansion of its overall functioning, people familiar with the development said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit being hosted by Sri Lanka.
India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons.
Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
The people cited above said the summit will adopt the 'BIMSTEC Charter' which give the grouping an international identity and layout the basic institutional architecture through which it will carry out its work.
With 21.7 per cent of the world population and combined GDP of USD 3.8 trillion, the BIMSTEC has emerged as an influential engine of economic growth.
The summit is also likely to formally adopt the BIMSTEC master plan for transport connectivity which was finalised under India's chairmanship of the expert group last year.
