BIMSTEC Home Ministers Adopt Delhi Declaration at First Meeting, Approve Five Security Initiatives

Home ministers of the seven BIMSTEC member states met in New Delhi on 13 October for the grouping’s first Home Ministers’ Meeting and adopted the Delhi Declaration on regional security cooperation. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ANI reported. BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

According to DD India’s account, the declaration reaffirmed cooperation for a connected, secure, resilient and prosperous region and described the Bay of Bengal as a shared security space. Members condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, and called for implementing United Nations Security Council sanctions and stronger action against terrorist financing. The declaration also highlighted technology-enabled human trafficking, including victims forced into online scam operations, and called for victim-centred cross-border cooperation.

The ministers approved five regional initiatives, ANI reported. These are a BIMSTEC convention against trafficking in persons; a plan of action on drug control; a memorandum of understanding on capacity building to combat money laundering and terror financing; a plan of action on illicit financial flows and their prevention; and a plan of action on natural disaster preparedness in the Bay of Bengal region.

Shah emphasised India’s policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism and said terrorist networks should not be allowed to find “safe havens” in the region, according to ANI. He described drug trafficking as “death trafficking” and said it cannot be tackled by one country alone. Before the meeting, The Shillong Times reported, Shah called it a historic step towards stronger regional cooperation in a post on X and said India was honoured to host it.

DD India reported several follow-up steps. The ministers tasked the BIMSTEC Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime with following up on the declaration and called for developing a BIMSTEC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk. They also encouraged early finalisation of conventions on extradition, transfer of sentenced persons and trafficking in persons, along with a standard operating procedure for rescuing, repatriating and reintegrating trafficking victims.

The declaration further committed members to training and capacity-building programmes on counter-terrorism, drugs, trafficking and money laundering, and encouraged the BIMSTEC Secretariat to pursue partnerships with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, INTERPOL and the Financial Action Task Force. Members also noted progress on maritime security and committed to holding such meetings regularly and hosting future ones.

ANI said the Ministry of Home Affairs reported that India reiterated its commitment to sharing expertise in police training, counter-terrorism operations and forensic investigations, and that the meeting discussed a proposed BIMSTEC disaster management centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The Home Ministers’ meetings were agreed at the fourth BIMSTEC Summit in 2018, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reaffirmed at the sixth summit that India would host the first one.