Kolkata: Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Saturday said he was happy to see the transformation of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) from a grouping of countries into a full-fledged regional organization focused on broad region around the Bay Of Bengal.

"BIMSTEC has a distinct international legal personality today," he said while addressing at the inaugural session of the two-day BIMSTEC meet marking its 25th Anniversary.

"The Government of India is committed to strengthening BIMSTEC as a regional organization. It is for this reason that Narendra Modi had given additional financial resources to the BIMSTEC Secretariat at Sri Lanka Summit in 2022," he said.

“BIMSTEC can address issues collectively, work and collaborate in a manner that will help us attain Sustainable Development Goals targets in the region. The Government of India is committed to BIMSTEC’S regional organization," the Minister said.

He said keeping in mind the current uncertainties created due to COVID-19 situation and the international system due to developments in Europe, the political leadership is ready to take the BIMSTEC corporation to the next level.

"Given the post covid economic challenges, that are being faced by all of us and also the uncertainties in the international system due to developments in Europe, requires regional action more than ever before," he said.

Speaking on India's Millet diplomacy, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said: "This is the Year of the Millet and our Prime Minister has given much importance to it. This is a climate resilient crop and its nutrition value is very high. Let us hope that food deficiency by way of cultivation and popularization of millet can be addressed. It grows in all geographic condition and needs less water. So let us promote it and see how far it goes to solve the problem of food security.”

He said Kolkata is strategically one of the most prominent cities of India and for promotion of East and Act East policy.

"Kolkata should be the prime area and the regional head to lead the Act East policy,” he said.

(Reporting by Supriyo Hazra)