Dhaka, Aug. 4 -- Bangladesh has officially taken over the chairmanship of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) for the 2025 term, marking a pivotal moment for the seven-nation regional bloc.
The leadership transition comes at a time of both significant opportunity and persistent political and structural challenges, according to a statement from the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) on Saturday.
Despite over 25 years of cooperation, intra-regional trade within BIMSTEC remains limited at just $40 billion-roughly 7per cent of total trade among member states-far short of the estimated $250 billion potential.
The ICCB highlighted key impediments, including ongoing poli...