IT News
Kolkata, Mar 25:
Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh participated in the 2nd Conference on BIMSTEC: 25 Years of Driving Force behind Neighbourhood Cooperation. The Conference was organised by ISCS, in collaboration with MEA, from 25-26 March 2023 in Kolkata.
During his keynote address, Dr. RK Ranjan Singh highlighted India’s commitment towards strengthening BIMSTEC as a regional organisation and recalled Prime Minister Modi’s pledge for additional financial resources to the BIMSTEC Secretariat during the grouping’s Sri Lanka Summit in 2022.
He also emphasised on the need to develop intra BIMSTEC Trade and Transport Connectivity, to enable the region to attain grow, develop, and attain the goal of eradicating the scourge of poverty from the region. He remarked that we should not let up in our efforts to finalize ongoing transport connectivity initiatives – such as the negotiations on the Maritime Transport Agreement and Motor Vehicle Agreement.
The BIMSTEC regional grouping currently represents a combined GDP of US$ 3.6 trillion, however intra-BIMSTEC trade still remains relatively small at US$ 77 billion. To increase intra BIMSTEC trade, Dr. RK Ranjan Singh advised initiation of discussions on trade facilitation measures and promotion of regional value chain in agriculture. He further highlighted the need to build a strong BIMSTEC community, driven by a strong feeling of ‘being one region, one family and having one future’.
Governor of West Bengal C V Ananda Bose, Secretary General of BIMSTEC Tenzin Lekphell also spoke during the occasion.
