New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS): Terming the relation between BIMSTEC countries much beyond the diplomatic relations, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, G.Kishan Reddy on Friday said that the ties can be used to combat the drug trafficking.

Reddy was addressing a conference here on combating drug trafficking for The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) partner nations.

BIMSTEC is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia, housing 1.5 billion people.

"The issues of terrorism and drug trafficking have increased manifold through the maritime route and this makes the coordination among these nation all the important," Reddy said.

"The menace of Drug trafficking can be controlled only by the concerted efforts of the affected nations by sharing experiences and information," he added.

Talking about the steps taken by Government of India in combating drug trafficking Reddy said that the Government has laid down a well thought out strategy to increase coordination among the agencies of the Centre as well as States.

"The Home Ministry has established a joint coordination committee to increase surveillance over drug trafficking," Reddy said.