On 2 June 2023, Mr. Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs, opened a seminar entitled “BIMSTEC Connectivity: Now and the Future” at the Bangkok Marriott the Surawongse. The seminar included panelists from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Ministry of Transport and the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP). High level representatives from the public and private sectors and academics, as well as representatives from Embassies of the member states from the Bay of Bengal Initiative Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) attended the seminar.

The seminar discussed the current state of connectivity in BIMSTEC and ways to promote connectivity through the development of hardware infrastructure and software issues, as well as exploring the next step of BIMSTEC connectivity. Thailand as the Lead country for connectivity and current chair of BIMSTEC aims to use this opportunity to explore ways to implement BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity more effectively in order to optimise connectivity in BIMSTEC.