The Director said that the move, however, requires permission from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). read more

It should be seen as a test of India’s ambitions to be a leading power. If India cannot harness the Bay of Bengal region firmly to its own trajectory, it can hardly aspire to have a lasting influence on any other part of the world. read more

In his first public engagement after taking over as the external affairs minister, Jaishankar also touched on the US-China trade dispute arguing that that every clash presented an opportunity. read more

Failure to deliver on commitments has begun to affect New Delhi’s reputation and, in some cases, perversely incentivised neighbours to further deepen their outreach to China read more

Leaders from all BIMSTEC member-states have confirmed their attendance at the event. The bloc’s member nations include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand besides India. read more

Three-tier security will be functional all through the ceremony, which is expected to be attendfed by 8000 people, with the inner most ring provided by the VIP and Rashtrapati Bhavan security. read more

Bimstec was formed as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic Cooperation (BIST-EC) in June 1997. read more

On Monday, Indian officials said there were no plans to invite Khan to PM Modi’s oath-taking ceremony. Hindustan Times reported that India was keen on leaders from BIMSTEC countries attending the event. This grouping excludes Pakistan. read more

The invite to BIMSTEC leaders for Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony should be an excellent opportunity to remedy the problems with the regional grouping and use it as a vehicle to enhance trade and connectivity in the region read more

Inviting the leaders of Bimstec to the inauguration also took care of another tricky issue confronting the NDA – how to maintain the focus on India’s neighbourhood without having to extend an invitation to Pakistan, given the rocky state of bilateral... read more

The BIMSTEC member states are: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and India. read more

While the countries around the Bay of Bengal are part of one of the fastest growing economic regions, trade among them accounts for only five percent of all trade in the region. Even the implementation of the connectivity master plan will take a long... read more

The draft connectivity master plan has been arrived at after over a decade of discussions at various levels. read more

After Nepal decided to skip the first ever BIMSTEC military exercise in India, its newly appointed Army Chief Purna Chandra Thapa has declined an invite by the Indian Army to attend a conclave of army chiefs read more

New Delhi can pretend there are no problems in India’s relationship with its northern neighbour, but the tensions, beneath the surface, will continue to deepen read more