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. The main focus of this policy is to strengthen relations with countries in south Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Pitak Indravitayannana the former Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand's official visit to the South Asian States, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, Thailand took the initiative to form a new economic cooperation. Consequently, BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) was formed during a meeting of Ministers in Bangkok in June 1996 with the aim of encouraging and promoting economic cooperation among member countries to bring about regional development. Eventually, Myanmar joined the organization as a full member during a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok in December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC to accommodate Myanmar's presence. |