India's Trade with BIMSTEC Countries from 1997–98 to 2012–13: Impact of Economic Recession

The BIMSTEC countries have long shared common objectives for closer economic integration within the South-East Asian region. Trade in goods have boosted the growth of Indian economy substantially and Indian trade in goods in the 2011–12 year have earned nearly US $ 192 billion and is expected to earn US $ 440 billion for the 2014–15 fiscal year. However, with the wave of recession set in 2001 & 2008, the pattern of India's trade in goods with BIMSTEC countries has started to change. The present paper has two objectives. Firstly, it tries to find out the trend in India's trade in goods with BIMSTEC countries from 1997 to 2012. Secondly, the paper has also examined the effect of economic recession on India's trade in goods with BIMSTEC countries.