This book reviews the past and provides new strategies to help BIMSTEC achieving a new paradigm of integration. It primarily deals with the regional cooperation and integration issues, and assesses policy priorities, effectiveness, implementation imperatives and challenges. Each chapter in this book tries to capture essential features of the crosscutting issues and attempts to draw some policy implications. The subject of this book will be of special interests to policy planners, development organisations, academicians, researchers as well as potential investors. Please note: T&Fdoes not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

This volume is a comprehensive study of the challenges and opportunities facing the BIMSTEC, The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. BIMSTEC was established to promote economic cooperation among rising economic powers in South and Southeast Asia, but after years of stagnation the need for renewed regional commitment is starker than ever. The book studies the BIMSTEC’s present status and highlights the ways in which the organisation can be rejuvenated to forge a stronger Bay of Bengal community. It looks at key themes such as the challenges to regional integration, India’s "Look East" and Thailand’s "Look West" policies, transport connectivity and tourism within the BIMSTEC and the aspirations of various member countries. It also examines BIMSTEC’s approach towards climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation. A timely contribution, this volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of international relations, South Asian studies, foreign policy, diplomacy, Southeast Asian studies, defence and strategic affairs, maritime studies, international trade, regional cooperation and political studies.

India, being the most powerful country regionally and the largest democracy in the world, has a major role in ensuring security and safety in the BOB. In order to gain a deeper appreciation of the region, the emerging situation, and the way ahead, an International Conference on Security and Prosperity in the Bay of Bengal was organized by CPPR with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), South Asia. It was held from November 29 to December 1, 2022, in Kochi, Kerala. The presentations and discussions at the Conference were insightful and brought out several valuable suggestions and recommendations for the way ahead. This volume is a compilation of papers presented at the conference.

This book presents a holistic perspective across various facets of culture, history, politics, economics and strategy in India’s relations with neighbouring South and Southeast Asian countries. This book not only analyses various issues of India’s foreign policy diplomacy but also explores the perspectives of neighbouring countries towards India. It engages experts from India and its South and Southeast Asian neighbours to discuss topics, such as overland linkages, people-to-people interactions, opportunities and implications of India’s Act East policy on its neighbours in changing geopolitical backdrop. The book emphasises on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests a greater scope of regional cooperation on emergencies such as health crises in the Bay region. This rich collection of essays has strategic and scholarly relevance for researchers working on a wide range of topics related to development studies, cultural studies, Asian studies as well as policy makers and general readers.

Gathering contributions from leading academics and international trade experts from South Asia, this book is dedicated to the late Dr. Saman Kelegma, whose untimely death in June 2017 left a huge void in the field of regional economic cooperation. Keeping in mind his enduring legacy regarding regional cooperation in South Asia, it covers issues related to the challenges of deeper regional integration in South Asia and proposes strategies to address these challenges. It also offers an up-to-date, rigorous academic analysis of various issues related to low intra-regional trade in South Asia; prevalence of tariff barriers; incidence of a range of non-tariff measures; challenges of weak-trade-related infrastructure and the need for trade facilitation; the political economics of regional integration, highlighting how bilateral political relations affect the integration process; low level of intra-regional investment; South Asia’s pattern of integration with the global and regional value chains; pattern and dominance of informal trade; and alternative regional integration initiatives in South Asia, such as the bilateral, regional, and sub-regional trade agreements within and countries outside this region. Intended primarily for researchers and students of international trade, and policymakers from South Asia and beyond, the book is also a valuable supplementary reference resource for researchers and students. Furthermore, the pragmatic analysis of the policy options presented offers guidance for policymakers in South Asia wanting to implement effective policies and strategies for deeper regional integration.

BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) represents one of the most diverse regions of the world. Providing a unique link between South Asia and Southeast Asia, it brings together 1.5 billion people and a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion. This volume focuses on issues related to connectivity, commerce, and security challenges facing BIMSTEC. It studies BIMSTEC’s relevance as an inter-governmental organization in the changing international milieu. The volume discusses the necessity of connectivity to enhance Bay solidarity and analyses the political, strategic and security concerns that restrain commercial connectivity. It also looks at the Bay of Bengal region as a zone of competition—and possible collaboration—between the littoral countries and major powers involved in the region. Comprehensive and topical, this volume will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of international relations, South Asian studies, foreign policy, diplomacy, Southeast Asian studies, defence and strategic affairs, maritime studies, international trade, regional cooperation, and political studies.