The talks were designed to provide a much-needed drive towards the goal of free trade by 2017 after a hesitant start for a group designed to bridge the gap between the nations of South and Southeast Asia.

The gathering is big on symbolism but trade within the group represents only 7.3 billion dollars, or four percent of their total trade, and tariff negotiations are not due to start until later this year.

The seven -- Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and new members Bhutan and Nepal -- are to use the summit to draw up a "roadmap" to navigate the course towards the opening of markets and promote trade.

Analysts played down the significance of the meeting and warned much needed to be done to tap the trading potential of the two areas.

Prapat Thepchatree, director of Thailand's Centre for International Policy Studies, said: "The (Thai) government would like to promote this into a very big event. But for me, as an observer, this kind of grouping and cooperation will be a gradual evolution, it will be a slow process.

"It's very nominal compared with Thai-US trade, Japanese or other Asian countries."

Sunandan Chowdhury, an expert on globalisation from India, said the effectiveness of the group was hampered by the absence of countries like Singapore, India's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

He said other established organisations -- such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) -- were more effective at representing their members.

"It's my hunch that 95 percent of college lecturers in India don't know what BIMSTEC is," Chowdhury said.

The battles against terrorism and HIV/AIDS and the creation of an Asian monetary fund were due to feature during the two days of discussions among foreign ministers, six prime ministers and the Sri Lankan president, Thai officials said.

While foreign ministers met yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had face-to-face sessions with fellow leaders.

They included Myanmar counterpart General Khin Nyunt who refused to bow to international pressure over the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Khin Nyunt said that Myanmar would decide on the appropriate and proper timing for the date of Aung San Suu Kyi's release," Thaksin told reporters after the meeting. "Myanmar is an independent country, they don't want anyone to interfere with their internal matters."

The summit marked the first overseas trip by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh since taking office in May. "We believe BIMSTEC can evolve into a dynamic, exemplary, economic grouping," Singh said in an interview with The Nation newspaper Friday. BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand - Economic Cooperation) was founded in 1997 -- the year the Asian economic crisis hit -- to promote trade focusing on six key sectors from tourism to technology.

The three most advanced members, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, are committed to trade liberalisation by 2012, with the others following within five years.

The signing of a free trade agreement in the Thai resort province of Phuket earlier this year was almost scuppered by the late withdrawal of Bangladesh because of a row over compensation for lost tariff revenue.