The Third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue, titled “The New World Order and BIMSTEC: Curtain Raiser to the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit” was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 11-12, 2024. The dialogue was organized by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling, in collaboration with the ASEAN Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University and The Asia Foundation.

The two-day Dialogue featured numerous panel discussions on contemporary issues such as the new world order & global challenges; trade, investment & connectivity; governance; people to people relations; and trade & gender. A special session on breaking barriers and way forward was also held.

The Dialogue concluded with a set of concrete recommendations, including early conclusion of BIMSTEC FTA negotiations, creation of database on non-tariff barriers, strengthening the technical capacity of the Secretariat, focusing on gender issues, enhancing BIMSTEC’ annual budget, and implementing pilot projects in the region.

The Dialogue was aimed at enhancing networking and sharing of ideas among regional experts to foster a deeper understanding of global challenges and to provide sustainable solutions. Over 100 experts, scholars, diplomats, entrepreneurs and practitioners attended the Dialogue both in-person and in virtual mode.

Media Coverage

• Enhanced regional cooperation among BIMSTEC members stressed
• BIMSTEC urged to establish a 'free trade area'
• Bimstec yet to make substantial progress in trade: experts
•  Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue call for a BIMSTEC FTA within a year
• অর্থনৈতিক স্থিতিশীলতা নিশ্চিতে নাগরিক সমাজের অংশগ্রহণ বাড়ানোর আহ্বান
• Bangkok declaration for enhancing co-op among BIMSTEC economies