India’s Millet Diplomacy can Solve Food Crisis Affecting BIMSTEC Countries, says MoS External Affairs

Rajkumar Ranjan Singh also emphasized Kolkata's role as a leader in India's 'Act East' agenda. "I am extremely pleased to see BIMSTEC evolve from a collection of countries into a full-fledged regional organization focusing on the Bay of Bengal region."

"Today, BIMSTEC has a distinct international legal identity," he stated during the opening session of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary (BIMSTEC).

"This is the Millet Year, and our Prime Minister has made it a priority. This is a climate-resilient crop with a high nutritional value. Let us hope that food insecurity can be solved through millet cultivation and popularization," he added. "It grows in all climates and requires less water. So let us encourage it and see how far it can take us to solve the problem of food security," he said at the opening session of the two-day BIMSTEC meeting commemorating its 25th anniversary.

He emphasized that Kolkata should be the key area and regional head to lead the Act East strategy, referring to it as "strategically one of India's most notable cities" and for the promotion of "East and Act East policy." "The Government of India is committed to the regional organization of BIMSTEC." As a result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided financial resources to the BIMSTEC secretariat at the Sri Lanka Summit in 2022. "BIMSTEC has now evolved into an efficient Bay of Bengal regional organization," he remarked.

"With the post-covid economic issues that we are all facing, as well as the uncertainty in the international system as a result of changes in Europe," he stated, "regional action is more important than ever before." He stated that the BIMSTEC region's political leadership is strongly dedicated to pushing the BIMSTEC corporation to the next level.

"The primary tasks for officials, policymakers, and scholars are to assist governments in identifying actions for policies that can be undertaken collaboratively and to assist BIMSTEC in delivering actual developments for its people," he said.

BIMSTEC is made up of seven member countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) that are either adjacent to or dependent on the Bay of Bengal. Leaders adopted and signed the BIMSTEC Charter at the most recent BIMSTEC Summit, completing its transformation into a full-fledged regional organization with distinct international legal personality. India is completely committed to collaborating with BIMSTEC member countries to advance the BIMSTEC regional cooperation agenda and to transforming BIMSTEC into a thriving regional organization for development and economic cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.

"BIMSTEC holds enormous promise as a platform for cooperation," said BIMSTEC Secretary General Tenzin Lekphell during the opening session. "Our institutions, procedures, and legal frameworks are becoming more tangible and established." Ministerial and senior official meetings are becoming more participatory, engaging, and consistent. Our leaders' political determination and dedication to BIMSTEC is also bringing more peace."

BIMSTEC was founded in June 1997 and was previously called as BIST-EC after its founding member countries of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Economic Cooperation was abbreviated as EC. Burma joined the organization in December 1997, increasing the term to BIMSTEC. Nepal and Bhutan were also granted full membership by February 2004.

The BIMSTEC headquarters in Dhaka were launched in 2014 by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Furthermore, the BIMSTEC Charter was signed and adopted by the member nations during the Fifth Summit in Colombo in March 2022, marking a watershed moment in the organization's history. BIMSTEC now operates with the goal of fostering technological and economic cooperation among its member countries.

The initiative's major goal is to promote "rapid development through the identification and implementation of specific cooperation projects in the sectors of commerce, investment and industry, technology, human resource development, tourism, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and transportation."