Opinion | Modi’s Big Plan For BIMSTEC: Connecting India With Southeast Asia
From a transformed Northeast to the upcoming Great Nicobar port, India is using BIMSTEC to open new trade routes to Southeast Asia
India’s Northeast is at the cusp of a connectivity revolution. Since 2014, the development of crucial infrastructure in the Northeast has been taken up on a mission mode. Once known for scant connectivity and internal disturbances, India’s Northeast today boasts some of the country’s best roads and bridges. Rail infrastructure has grown by leaps and bounds, and all states in the Northeast are now on India’s railway map.
Therefore, the time is ripe to take the next big step, and that is exactly why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Thailand for the BIMSTEC Summit assumes such importance.
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At the top of the BIMSTEC’s agenda is the Maritime Transport Agreement, which will provide a fillip to intra-regional trade between India and Southeast Asia. Not only is the MTA set to enhance trade between India and ASEAN, but it will also help New Delhi grow its influence across the wider Pacific Ocean.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar highlighted this during his remarks at the BIMSTEC ministerial meeting. He emphasised the fact that India has the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal, spanning almost 6500 kilometres. India shares borders not only with five BIMSTEC members, but also connects most of them and provides much of the interface between the Indian Sub-continent and ASEAN.
For context, the BIMSTEC countries have a combined population of 1.73 billion people and a GDP of $5.2 trillion. Connectivity integration within this bloc can change the face of trade in the Indo-Pacific. After all, the sky is the limit for India.
Amid growing geopolitical uncertainty globally, New Delhi is keen to first connect Thailand with the Northeast and India’s coastal regions. Once that is achieved, the path will be cleared for India to make further inroads into Southeast Asia – especially in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.
The Maritime Transport Agreement will offer discounted port fees for different types of cargo from BIMSTEC nations, permit transshipment through third-country ports, and streamline logistics to boost regional trade. This initiative is anticipated to greatly strengthen India’s trade ties with neighbouring countries by enhancing maritime connectivity in the Bay of Bengal.
In recent days, there have been unsound comments made by certain unelected heads of state, who have sought to discount the importance of India’s Northeast while trumpeting their own supposed influence in the region. To think of India’s Northeast as “landlocked" and a region which depends on other countries to sustain itself is a rookie assessment at best.
Not only does India boast a vast coastline, stretching from the Chennai Port in the South to the Kolkata Port in the East, but it is also increasingly turning its focus to strengthen its maritime and shipbuilding ecosystem. As part of this broad strategy, India has been upgrading its existing port infrastructure while also eyeing game-changing projects which would help New Delhi bypass certain countries to reach ASEAN nations, particularly Thailand and Vietnam.
One such project on the anvil is the Rs 41,000 crore international transhipment port project at Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal. The proposed port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have the ultimate capacity to handle 16 million containers per year. Once completed, this hub will help converge West- and East-bound shipments, making India a critical player in global supply chains.
With Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus deciding to get increasingly cosy with China and Pakistan, India can no longer rely on Dhaka to play a constructive role in integrating the Indian subcontinent with Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific. Similarly, Myanmar’s civil war has soured plans for the country to provide a land bridge between India and Thailand. Notwithstanding the chaos in Myanmar, New Delhi is confident that the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway will become fully operational in the near future. Most of this project is complete, with only a limited stretch of road between Myanmar’s Kalewa and Mandalay yet to be constructed.
As India’s Operation Brahma helps the country earn some much-needed goodwill in war-torn Myanmar, it is expected that the warring factions will settle around the idea of allowing the IMT Highway and Kaladan Multi Modal Transport Project to achieve completion. The IMT highway will be supported by maritime connectivity efforts, including strengthening direct port-to-port links, with MoUs already signed between Ranong Port in Thailand and Indian ports in Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Kolkata. This is to say that even if Bangladesh decides to play spoilsport, India’s BIMSTEC connectivity goals are expected to stay on track.
Moreover, with Donald Trump imposing reciprocal tariffs, Southeast Asian countries will be seeking alternative markets. India, whose consumer market is set to become the world’s third-largest by 2026, provides Southeast Asian nations the perfect opportunity to diversify their trade partnerships, reduce dependence on Western markets, and tap into a rapidly expanding consumer base. Some estimates even suggest that India’s consumer market is on track to expand 46 per cent by 2030, making it the second-largest globally.
A key achievement in the 10 years of the Act East Policy has been the upgradation of India’s ties with ASEAN to a “strategic partnership." Since 2015, bilateral trade has nearly doubled, with significant growth in India’s exports and an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) from ASEAN nations. Additionally, India’s diplomatic presence and engagement in the region have seen a marked improvement.
With many global companies diversifying supply chains away from China, India’s strategic investments in BIMSTEC connectivity can position it as a key player in regional and global supply chains. Improved trade routes will help Indian businesses integrate more seamlessly with Southeast Asian production networks, boosting exports and creating more job opportunities at home.
The BIMSTEC region is home to a growing middle class, and improved connectivity will allow Indian businesses to tap into high-demand sectors such as consumer goods, electronics, and digital services. Moreover, lower transportation costs and faster turnaround times will enhance the competitiveness of Indian goods in BIMSTEC nations, allowing Indian MSMEs to expand their export footprint.
Prime Minister Modi’s push for deeper BIMSTEC ties reflects India’s long-term vision—one that sees connectivity as the backbone of economic growth, regional stability, and strategic influence. By enhancing trade routes, streamlining logistics, and investing in port and highway projects, India is positioning itself as the bridge between South Asia and ASEAN.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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