Overview

• Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged BIMSTEC members to rapidly ratify and implement the Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation at the conclave’s close.
• A Sustainable Maritime Transport Centre will be established under IOCE-SMaRT at the Maritime Training Institute in Powai, Mumbai.
• The government launched joint feasibility studies for port-linked industrial zones to underpin plans for a six-fold increase in India’s port capacity to 10,000 million tonnes per annum by 2047.
• India committed to expand multi-modal links through the Kaladan project, targeting its replication as a regional connectivity model.
• Delegates highlighted the need to lift intra-regional trade above seven percent by streamlining customs procedures and adopting green port transitions.