♤ These developments have given a clear indication that India and China are prepared to work together in their common peripheries.

♤ Challenges: The relations between India and China, the strategic implications it might have on the region and the conditions in the region through which the proposed corridor passes through are the major challenges.

♤ There are various political and security issues at the local, national, regional levels that need to be addressed before discussing the commercial prospects of the BCIM-EC.

♤ Trade architectures, transit facilities, infrastructure capabilities are all important but these operational aspects of economic corridor need to be discussed within the larger societal context. Perhaps, the question boils down to who gets what, and at what cost if the BCIM- EC is seen purely from the economic perspective.

♤ If one expands the scope of the BCIM framework to the society there is a lot that the BCIM initiative could offer to all stakeholders. While top-down governmental initiatives are important, it is the society that determines the success or failure of any national and transnational initiatives.