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Discussants at the 3rd Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2024 have called upon the BIMSTEC leaders to establish a 'BIMSTEC free trade area' to expedite trade and investments among the member nations.
They also called for the creation of a 'BIMSTEC Technology Bank', implementation of integrated scholarship programmes, and promotion of people-to-people exchanges to build a stronger regional identity.
The South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) orgainsed the two-day long 3rd Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2024 in Bangkok, which concluded on Friday, in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University, the Institute of Trade and Development (ITD) and The Asia Foundation (TAF).
Held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, the event was attended by over 100 senior scholars, experts and stakeholders from across the Bay of Bengal region, including Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, to discuss pressing regional issues under the theme 'The New World Order and BIMSTEC: Curtain Raiser to the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit,' says a press release.
Since its inception in 1997, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) has played a crucial role in fostering economic and technical cooperation among its member states.
The summit was organised on a variety of themes, including the new world order and global challenges, trade, investment, and connectivity, governance, people-to-people relations, breaking barriers for future cooperation, trade and gender, and preparations for the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit.
After completion of the two-day summit, SANEM Executive Director Professor Selim Raihan read out the Bangkok Declaration.
The declaration was ceremoniously handed over to Mr Tshewang Dorji T, director of Environment and Climate Change at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The Bangkok Declaration underscores the critical need for enhanced regional integration and cooperation among the BIMSTEC member states.
It highlights significant economic potential of the Bay of Bengal region and the importance of addressing global challenges such as climate change, trade barriers and geopolitical tension through collective efforts.
The declaration calls for stronger governance, transparency and civil society engagement to ensure economic and social stability.
It also emphasises the necessity of advancing transport, investment, trade, logistics, energy and digital connectivity to foster regional growth.