NEW DELHI: As the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) remains stalled and ongoing conflicts expose vulnerabilities in global supply chains, India is sharpening its focus on the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
ASSOCHAM on Monday announced the Indian leadership of the BIMSTEC Business Council.
ASSOCHAM, which functions as the India secretariat for the Business Council under the Ministry of External Affairs, said the initiative is aimed at strengthening trade, connectivity and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) linkages across the seven-member grouping.
BIMSTEC, comprising India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, has gained traction as New Delhi looks to bridge South and Southeast Asia through sub-regional frameworks.
At the launch, Tribhuvan Darbari, India Chair of the BIMSTEC Business Council, described the grouping as a '5 trillion dollars opportunity' and called for deeper trade integration, logistics coordination and resilient supply chains.
BIMSTEC Secretary General Indra Mani Pandey stressed the need for regional self-reliance. “We need to create dependency regionally rather than depending on global supply chains, whether in energy security or health security,” he said.
ASSOCHAM President Nirmal K. Minda flagged connectivity gaps and low intra-regional trade as key challenges, noting that BIMSTEC countries account for a limited share of each other’s trade despite geographical proximity.
Officials said the Business Council will serve as a platform to align industry with policy priorities, particularly in multimodal connectivity, digital trade and MSME internationalisation.
ASSOCHAM Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal said the focus would be on “turning intent into action” through structured industry-government collaboration across member states.
The event also saw participation from diplomats representing Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, underlining broader support for strengthening BIMSTEC’s economic pillar.
The roadmap unveiled focuses on boosting intra-regional trade and investment, improving transport and logistics linkages, and expanding cooperation in sectors such as financial technology, agricultural technology, renewable energy and the blue economy.
With BIMSTEC increasingly positioned as a key vehicle for India’s 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East' policies, the emphasis is now on translating strategic intent into tangible economic outcomes.
