Contents Foreword v Preface vii List of Tables, Figures and Maps ix List of Abbreviations List of Contributors 1. Introduction Prabir De Part One: Cultural and Civilisational Linkages 2. Maritime Trade and Societal Transitions in the Extended Eastern Indian Ocean c. 900–1500 Kenneth R. Hall 3. Civilizational Linkages in the Bay of Bengal Region until 1800 Rila Mukherjee 4. Rejuvenating Cultural Linkages in Bay of Bengal Region Himansu Prabha Ray 5. Culture: An Expression of Values Lungtaen Gyatso Part Two: Trade and Investment 6. Trade and Connectivity in the BIMSTEC Region: Questions of ‘Incremental Benefits’ for the Member Countries Khondaker Golam Moazzem and Marzuka Ahmad Radia 7. Trade and Investment in BIMSTEC Countries: Status, Challenges and Possible Solutions Sanjay Kumar Mangla and Prithviraj Nath 8. Myanmar as a Golden Gateway between the Bay of Bengal and the Heartland of Asia Ko Ko Hlaing Part Three: Connectivity 9. Connectivity in BIMSTEC Rohan Samarajiva 10. BIMSTEC: Building Bridges, Promoting Connectivity Kavita Iyengar 11. North-East of India and BIMSTEC: A Reality Check C. Joshua Thomas and Deigracia Nongkynrih 12. Recent Developments in Nepal’s Trade Logistics: Implications for BIMSTEC Cooperation Pushpa Raj Rajkarnikar 13. Measures to Harness India’s Blue Economy Kapil Narula Part Four: Emerging Challenges and the Way Forward 14. The Challenge of Building the Bay of Bengal as an Interconnected Region David Brewster 15. Dynamics of the Bay of Bengal and the Sino-India “Cooperation Dilemma” Zhu Cuiping 16. Ways to Strengthen Cooperation between BIMSTEC and IORA Prabir De 17. Strengthening BIMSTEC Integration: The New Agenda Prabir De and Suthiphand Chirathivat