BIMSTEC: Key to India's Neighborhood, Act East, Sagarmala Policies

New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) The seven-nation grouping BIMSTEC holds a special significance for India as it is at the heart of its Neighbourhood First, Act East, and Sagarmala policies, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the BIMISTEC Business Summit being hosted here from August 6-8 by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

India attaches great importance to BIMSTEC which links five countries from South Asia -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka -- and two from Southeast Asia -- Myanmar and Thailand, the minister said.

"BIMSTEC holds a special significance for India as it is at the heart of our Neighbourhood First, Act East, and Sagarmala policies," the minister said.

He spoke about India's last decade which has shown "strong growth" along with fiscal prudence, appetite for reform, able governance, progress in digital public infrastructure, rapid and appropriate skilling of the population and a vibrant spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The event is being held nearly a month after the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' retreat in New Delhi.

The minister spoke about the forthcoming BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand which will bring together public and private sectors, think tanks, industry members, and academia on the same platform, the CII said in a statement.

He spoke about the key focus areas for the BIMSTEC region -- capacity building, economic cooperation, and connectivity.

The minister said BIMSTEC accounts for almost 25 per cent of the world's population and have abundant resources, both natural and human.

"Greater collaboration between us promises to be a shining example of the Global South coming together for the shared development and prosperity of our people," Margherita was quoted as saying in the statement.

The session was also addressed by Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, BIMSTEC Secretariat, who said, "Since the inception of BIMSTEC in 1997, the critical importance of intra-regional trade has been underlined by both the governments and think tanks, media and academia.