Bangladesh, July 22 -- Regional bloc Bimstec is pursuing alternative mechanisms to boost trade and investment among its seven member-states while negotiations on a long-pending free-trade agreement (FTA) continue, says its chief executive.

Advertisement The forum's Secretary-General, Indra Mani Pandey, explained the trade-promotion programme to journalists on Tuesday during an interaction with members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB) at the headquarters of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) in Dhaka.

He said the FTA negotiations remained a complex process involving multiple countries with differing priorities, but expressed optimism that progress...