India provides $1m to BIMSTEC for operational budget 

India has provided $1 million to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Secretariat in Dhaka to increase its operational budget. 

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh handed over a cheque for $1 million to BIMSTEC Secretary General Tenzin Lekphell in New Delhi on Wednesday. 

On March 30, during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Colombo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country would provide the BIMSTEC Secretariat with $1 million to increase its operational budget to strengthen its capacity, reports UNB. 

The contribution to the operational budget will have to be used to complete key institution-building tasks collectively identified by the member states, the regional multilateral organisation said.  

BIMSTEC members – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand – lie in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal.