ISDS Case Map
BIMSTEC
Bangladesh-India-Myanmar-Sri Lanka-Thailand (plus Bhutan and Nepal) Economic Cooperation
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The ninth ministerial meet of the BIMSTEC failed to announce the date for implementing the already agreed upon free trade agreement.
Minister for Finance Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat led the Nepalese delegation to the Ninth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting held in New Delhi today.
Bangladesh urged the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) countries to show more flexibility in addressing concerns of all member-countries to ensure equitable trade under the Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement.
Thailand yesterday dismissed news reports that political problems at home had delayed negotiations on free-trade agreements (FTAs) among members of the regional Bimstec trade bloc.
The sagging negotiations on the proposed BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement are likely to get momentum after a new government is installed in Thailand through October 18 elections, the Thai foreign minister said in the city Sunday, report agencies.
