Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement
(APTA). Besides these, India has adopted the “Look East Policy”
(LEP) and is engaged in deepening economic cooperation with the
ASEAN and countries belonging to the East Asia Summit (EAS),
which brings together the ASEAN and six of its partner countries,
including India. Providing fillip to these initiatives is not possible
without the NER also playing a pivotal role in international trade
and connectivity (see Figure 2.3).