New Delhi: Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has reinforced India’s commitment to BIMSTEC, aligning with its “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies to strengthen regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.
India, a founding member, has played a proactive role in advancing connectivity, trade facilitation, energy cooperation and capacity building among member states, while supporting institutional strengthening, including the BIMSTEC Secretariat.
ASSOCHAM, the India Secretariat for the BIMSTEC Business Council under the Ministry of External Affairs, has revitalised the council’s India secretariat by launching its leadership framework.
Tribhuvan Darbari, India Chair, BIMSTEC Business Council, said, “BIMSTEC represents a $5 trillion opportunity. The time is ripe to unlock this potential through deeper trade integration, stronger supply chains, and seamless connectivity. The real opportunity within BIMSTEC lies in converting policy alignment into business outcomes… ASSOCHAM will focus on creating a robust platform for industry-government engagement.”
Nirmal K Minda, President, ASSOCHAM, emphasised the chamber’s vision to strengthen connectivity, empower MSMEs, and unlock investment and innovation opportunities across member nations.
Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, BIMSTEC, said, “We need to create dependency regionally rather than depending on the global supply chains… We can deal with such challenges working together.”
Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, added, “This marks not just an institutional milestone, but a lasting commitment to businesses across seven nations.”
Diplomats from Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka & Thailand participated in the deliberations.
ASSOCHAM said it will support the formation of the BIMSTEC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and work with member nations to boost trade, connectivity, MSME internationalisation, and collaboration in fintech, agritech, renewable energy and blue economy ahead of BIMSTEC’s 30-year milestone
in 2027.