Leaders of seven countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal will be meeting in Bangkok today with the hope of reinvigorating regional cooperation in a largely fragmented world faced with a trade war and a breakdown of multilateralism.

Economists and foreign relations analysts are optimistic about the outcomes of the sixth summit of the BIMSTEC leaders, where for the first time, some important decisions will be taken that can lead to substantial progress in trade and the economy.

BIMSTEC foreign ministers, including Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain, at the pre-summit meeting in Bangkok yesterday, signed an agreement on maritime transport cooperation, marking a significant step towards strengthening regional connectivity.

The summit will adopt the "Declaration of 6th BIMSTEC Summit, Bangkok Vision 2030", which is the first vision document to provide a comprehensive and practical roadmap for future cooperation amongst the BIMSTEC member states.

The summit will also adopt "Rules of Procedure for the BIMSTEC Mechanisms", which, together with the Charter, lay the foundation of the institutional framework for regional cooperation under BIMSTEC.

The leaders will also adopt the report of Eminent Persons' Group on the Future Direction of BIMSTEC. The document contains recommendations for enhancing trade through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), trade facilitation measures, implementing Single Window systems, and developing multimodal connectivity strategies, all aimed at streamlining regional trade.

"If adopted, this will be very important to advance the cause of regional cooperation," Prof Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam in Bangkok said the BIMSTEC chairmanship will officially be handed over to Bangladesh from Thailand today.

"Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is a great advocate for regional cooperation, economic development, and people-to-people contact. He will prioritise promoting trade and investment and improving relations with all regional countries," he told reporters in Bangkok yesterday as leaders from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand arrived in the Thai capital.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus reached Bangkok in the afternoon.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra hosted an official dinner for BIMSTEC leaders. She welcomed the BIMSTEC leaders and exchanged pleasantries at the Grand Ballroom of Shangri-La Hotel.

Yunus is scheduled to hold a number of meetings with BIMSTEC leaders on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit today, including meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bhutanese Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay and the Thai Prime Minister.

The theme of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit, which is being held three years after the 5th Summit in Sri Lanka is "Prosperous, Resilient, and Open BIMSTEC".

According to foreign policy analysts and economists, BIMSTEC has not achieved much in its journey of 27 years.

The combined economic size of BIMSTEC members stands at around $4.7 trillion, highlighting the bloc's vast potential for boosting intra-regional trade, but its intra-regional trade accounts for just 7 percent of its total trade, which is 25 percent for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Prof Mustafizur Rahman said the framework agreement of BIMSTEC was signed in 2004, but the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could not be signed yet. The member countries failed to reach consensus on crucial trade issues, specifically regarding rules of origin and trade in goods and services.

Md Sufiur Rahman, senior research fellow, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance, North South University, said Saarc could not advance because of Indo-Pakistan enmity, and Myanmar's political crisis and the current strained relations between India and Bangladesh pose serious challenges for BIMSTEC to succeed.

"I cannot be very hopeful before the political issues are resolved," Sufiur, also a former ambassador, told The Daily Star.

Selim Raihan, professor of economics at Dhaka University, said one significant obstacle for BIMSTEC is the lack of political commitment from the leaders of member countries.

"Larger nations have not consistently demonstrated the political will required to push the agenda forward, while smaller nations have not prioritised BIMSTEC sufficiently," he said.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, however, said trade and economic cooperation can go on despite the political or bilateral issues among the members.

"The regional integration is more important than ever as a trade war is on the rise," he said in reference to the Trump administration's imposing higher tariffs globally.