Thinking Aloud: Volume XI, Issue 3: August 1, 2024

We are happy to present the August 2024 issue of Thinking Aloud on the theme “Third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2024”. The first page article, “Moving Towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in BIMSTEC” explores the opportunities and challenges of establishing a CEPA among the member countries of the BIMSTEC. Comprising seven member states—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand—BIMSTEC has the potential to emerge as a pivotal platform for fostering economic cooperation, enhancing connectivity, and promoting sustainable development. As the region grapples with economic challenges and opportunities, moving towards a CEPA within BIMSTEC will represent a strategic move to bolster economic integration and regional prosperity. As the curtain raiser to the sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in 2024, the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) in collaboration with the Chulalongkorn University, Institute of Trade and Development (ITD) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) organised the third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue titled “The New World Order and BIMSTEC” on 11-12 July 2024 in Bangkok. This 2-day international conference was attended by over 100 senior experts, scholars, diplomats, and practitioners in both in-person and virtual modes. Besides, inaugural and valedictory sessions, a total of six plenary sessions and a special session were organized. The conference reiterated that, although the BIMSTEC made some tangible progress in recent years, the region would require an additional push to scale up to a higher level. The conference provided several recommendations on gender and trade, digital economy, governance, environment and climate, digital public infrastructure, SDGs, and GVCs, among others. This conference was also the follow-up conference that SANEM organized in October 2022 in Colombo at the sideline of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit. The second, third, and fourth pages of this issue present the Bangkok Declaration, shared in the Third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2024.