India hosted the second Agriculture Ministerial-level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC in New Delhi today. <br />''<br />''The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Agriculture Ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand participated in the meeting.<br />''<br />''Addressing the meeting through video conference, Mr. Tomar urged the member countries to cooperate in developing a comprehensive regional strategy to strengthen cooperation for the transformation of agriculture. <br />''<br />''He referred to the  importance of millet as a nutritious food and the efforts made by India to promote millet and its products during the International Year of Millets – 2023. He urged the member countries to adopt a conducive agricultural food system and a healthy diet for all. He asked participating countries to actively participate in India's initiative to promote millet as a food. Mr. Tomar said that natural and ecological farming should be promoted to conserve agricultural biodiversity and reduce the use of chemicals.<br />