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BIMSTEC


Among Neighbours - How to energize India’s Look East policy
India has traditionally looked West for trade, investment, and economic cooperation. But since the late 1990s, trade policy rightly focused on the Look East policy, and recognized that India needs to become integrated into the cross-border production and trade networks in Asia. The immediate attention was towards South Asian integration. But since the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the South Asian Free Trade Area remained just on paper on account of the yet unresolved differences between India and Pakistan, the government simultaneously initiated trade agreements with Southeast Asia.
India’s Myanmar Approach: Some General Observations
This article is based on the author’s visit to Manipur and the observations expressed are gathered from the formal and informal interactions with people working on Indo-Myanmar issues from long time.
BIMSTEC free trade area from July next year
The BIMSTEC member countries have decided to establish a free trade area (FTA) for transaction in goods from July next year. If established, the FTA would be two years behind its original deadline, trade official said.
Thailand to push for FTA with Bimstec members by July
Thailand today said it will push for the conclusion of a free trade agreement with India and other members of Bimstec by July, enabling tariff reduction next year.
India seals free-trade pact with Thailand
India took its trade diplomacy up several notches with negotiators wrapping up a free trade deal in goods with other BIMSTEC countries, ie. Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal.
Manmohan pitches for early conclusion of BIMSTEC trade pact
Pitching for early conclusion of the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said countries in Asia should give a new strategic thrust to the cooperation in the backdrop of global financial crisis.
Bimstec Free Trade Agreement on anvil
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) amongst Bimstec region is in the pipeline, according to Mr Yogendra Kumar, additional secretary, ministry of external affairs.
BIMSTEC parley begins tomorrow
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will attend the summit conference of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to be held in New Delhi on November 13. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
BIMSTEC meet to positively impact India’s northeast region
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand established in 1997 is a $810 billion economy, sharing about 22% of world population and 3.64% of surface area. After a gap of three years, India is going to host the second BIMSTEC summit during November 11-13, 2008 at New Delhi. The last summit was held in Bangkok in 2004. The summit-level meeting in BIMSTEC was delayed mainly due to political reasons and non-cooperation of some of the member countries.
BIMSTEC can be a bridge between South & Southeast Asia
Bangladesh feels that the BIMSTEC has immense potential for creating greater economic interaction, flow of trade and investment among the member states, though its FTA has yet to be finalised.
Bimstec meet will focus on poverty, food security
Seven countries of the Bay of Bengal rim will plan a common agenda for agriculture development to ensure food security and measures aimed at poverty alleviation at their first ministerial meeting here on 9 July.
Sri Lanka should make better use of existing trade deals: experts
Trade analysts say that Sri Lanka should make the most of existing trade deals like the Bay of Bengal Initiative before negotiating more bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Minority opinion
It remains unclear to me what the advantages of being part of the Saarc grouping are over entering into bilateral relations with each individual Saarc country instead. I have always like the concept of Bimstec instead.
India, Nepal begin talks to review trade treaty
With 11 days left for the bilateral trade pact between India and Nepal to lapse, the two neighbours started their two-day talks on Thursday to review the 11-year-old Indo-Nepal trade treaty.
India forms new SA trade bloc sans Pak
In what is being described as a success for India and a "failure and punishment for Pakistan" on the economic diplomacy front, India has formed a regional trading bloc excluding Islamabad, and including all the SAFTA members, besides Thailand.
India restarts free trade talks with Bimstec
After months of inaction, negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Bimstec countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand) have restarted with meetings taking place both at the official and business level in Bangkok this week.
Stalled trade negotiations under BIMSTEC
The next meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) of BIMSTEC is hanging in the balance due to inability of the member countries to fix a date for reviewing the progress of the previous meetings.
India to document revenue loss due to NTBs in Bimstec trade
Concerned over the possibility of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) of Bimstec nations becoming an obstacle to the projected 74% jump in India’s exports to them from 2003 figures, the government will soon collect data regarding the current and future revenue loss incurred due to the NTBs.
BIMSTEC meet sets early deadline for FTA
Foreign Ministers from the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Economic and Technical Cooperation have agreed that negotiations to finalise a BIMSTEC free trade agreement should be concluded before the next BIMSTEC summit scheduled to be held early next year in India.
BIMSTEC meet fails to announce date for implementing free trade pact; Nepal to lead BIMSTEC to poverty alleviation
The ninth ministerial meet of the BIMSTEC failed to announce the date for implementing the already agreed upon free trade agreement.