Sohini Bose

Sohini Bose

Sohini Bose is a Junior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Kolkata with the Strategic Studies Programme.
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Bay of Opportunity: Uniting India and BIMSTEC for Regional Prosperity

After three postponements and the severe earthquake that shook Thailand and Myanmar, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) scheduled its sixth summit in Bangkok for April 4, 2025. The decision to proceed with the summit underscored not only the resilience of the host city but also the enduring relevance of this year’s agenda—BIMSTEC: Prosperous, Resilient and Open. Leaders of the seven member states—India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan—explored ways of infusing greater momentum into this regional organisation through various institutional and capacity-building measures. This was the first in-person gathering of the regional leaders after the fourth summit in Nepal in 2018.

PM Hasina’s second India sojourn: Paving the future of India-Bangladesh ties

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina visited India twice this month, within a span of 12 days. She had previously been in New Delhi on June 9 during the newly re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony. Her second trip from June 21-22 involved interactions with the Indian President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, PM Modi, and the Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar.

South Asian Exemplars: India-Bangladesh Ties as a Model for Regional Cooperation

Geographical contiguity needs to be accompanied with complementarities in governance for regional development. In South Asia, this has been showcased by India and Bangladesh, with the heads of government of both countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina respectively, naming their partnership as “a model for bilateral relations for the entire region.”

Realizing Strategic Potential of Andaman & Nicobar

An exclusive ₹5,650 crore military infrastructure development plan was finalized in 2019 to strengthen the capacity of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, providing for the stationing of additional military forces, warships, aircraft, missile batteries, and infantry soldiers at the islands. Parallelly, a comprehensive plan for “force accretion” at the Andaman and Nicobar Command by 2027 is also being nurtured, involving a phased increase in Army manpower and assets through an improvement of the existing 108 Mountain Brigade and a new infantry battalion, apart from other upgrades.

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