Assocham Unveils India Leadership Of Bimstec Business Council; Key Focus On Trade, Connectivity And MSME Cooperation

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has announced the Indian leadership of the BIMSTEC Business Council. This grouping of BIMSTEC comprises of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. 

The event witnessed the participation of diplomats from Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, underlining broader support for strengthening BIMSTEC’s economic pillar. 

Tribhuvan Darbari, India Chair, BIMSTEC Business Council, said in his opening address, “BIMSTEC represents a USD 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. From trade facilitation and logistics integration to MSME collaboration and digital innovation, there is strong potential to deepen regional value chains. ASSOCHAM will focus on creating a robust platform for industry-government engagement, enabling businesses to scale across borders and leverage emerging opportunities in manufacturing, services, and sustainable sectors.”

Indra Mani Pandey, secretary general, BIMSTEC, said, “We need to create dependency regionally rather than depending on global supply chains, whether in energy security or health security.” 

The roadmap unveiled emphasised 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.

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