BIMSTEC eyes deeper commerce, power & blue financial system ties in Bay of Bengal

Kolkata: The Bay of Bengal is the central level of commerce. BIMSTEC has enhanced cooperation amongst member states in areas such because the blue financial system, mountain economies, power, catastrophe administration, tradition, and tourism, Secretary Normal of BIMSTEC Indra Mani Pandey stated in Kolkata on Thursday.

“India holds a strategic place to handle regional foreign money and political challenges, he acknowledged.

India shares the Prime Minister's imaginative and prescient on SAGAR, MAHASAGAR, and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) Ministry of Exterior Affairs Joint Secretary (States) A Ajay Kumar stated on Thursday.
“We invite varied international international locations to hitch IPOI to strengthen regional cooperation,” Kumar stated as we speak whereas highlighting India's strategic imaginative and prescient as he was talking on the third Version of the Indo-Pacific Financial Conclave (IPEC) 2025, coinciding with its 171st Annual Normal Assembly, organized by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Business (BCC&I).

Delivering the keynote deal with, West Bengal Extra Chief Secretary, Division of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME & T) Rajesh Pandey remarked, “The Indo-Pacific area accounts for greater than 60% of worldwide GDP, with a shared perspective on commerce. In West Bengal, MSMEs contributed 44% to complete exports in 2022-2023, rising to 46% in 2023-2024, showcasing their rising financial influence.”

With the theme “Indo-Pacific Cooperation: In the direction of New Horizons of Maritime Partnership ,” the Conclave was collaborated by the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA). The worldwide symposium introduced collectively high-level representatives from throughout the Indo-Pacific area and past, together with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Cambodia, Japan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.The platform fostered cross-border collaborations, coverage dialogues, and strategic partnerships to form the way forward for the Indo-Pacific area.“India's Indo-Pacific engagement focuses on its dedication to inclusive development anchored in sustainability. India is working in direction of a future-ready Indo-Pacific by way of investments in marine biodiversity conservation, local weather resilience, and collaborative financial insurance policies — one which ensures prosperity, stability and ecological steadiness,” Arnab Basu, President of BCCI emphasised.