Sri Lanka, Jan. 18 -- Sri Lanka is a founding member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Since its inception in 1997, Sri Lanka has been an active member in the multilateral forum.

The country held the chairmanship for the first time from 2002-2003, during which Colombo promoted the political commitment of member states to intensify sub-regional co-operation.

As of 2016, Colombo's trade with BIMSTEC members accounted for only 17.4 percent out of the total trade in goods. Its imports from BIMSTEC were only 23 percent of its total imports and Sri Lanka's exports to BIMSTEC members were only seven percent. Moreover, India accounted for more than 70 percent of Sri Lanka's trade wi...