BIMSTEC adopts Delhi Declaration to counter terrorism

• India hosted the first meeting of BIMSTEC Home Ministers in New Delhi on October 13. 

• The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of BIMSTEC member countries to strengthening regional security, trust, and cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.

• BIMSTEC countries approved the Delhi Declaration with an emphasis on combating “cross-border terrorism, terror financing and radicalisation”, narcotics smuggling, and other issues affecting the region.

• The meeting reviewed various initiatives undertaken by BIMSTEC in the security sector and to formulate a future course of action to further strengthen regional cooperation in addressing emerging security threats.

What is BIMSTEC?

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprises India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

• It is a regional bloc comprising seven countries lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

• This sub-regional organisation came into being on June 6, 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes five countries from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two from Southeast Asia (Myanmar and Thailand).

• Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four member states with the acronym BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following the inclusion of Myanmar on December 22, 1997 during a special ministerial meeting in Bangkok, the group was renamed BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).

• With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the sixth ministerial meeting in February 2004, the name of the grouping was changed to Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

• The BIMSTEC region is home to about 1.8 billion people, accounting for about 22 per cent of the global population with a combined GDP of $4.5 trillion.

• The BIMSTEC Secretariat is situated in Dhaka.

• India has been pushing for making BIMSTEC a vibrant forum as various regional initiatives under South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) were not moving forward primarily due to non-cooperation from Pakistan.

• For India, BIMSTEC is a natural choice to take forward key foreign policy priorities like ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ as the bloc enjoys the strength of connecting South and Southeast Asia. 

• Initially, six sectors — trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries — were included for sectoral cooperation. It was later expanded to 14 areas of cooperation.

Highlights of BIMSTEC Delhi Declaration:

• The Delhi Declaration outlines various principles guiding security cooperation under BIMSTEC. 

• The member countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation for regional peace, security, and development. 

• The declaration emphasized combating cross-border terrorism, terror financing, radicalisation, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, and organised crime. 

• It prioritised information sharing, mutual legal assistance, extradition, capacity building, and the effective implementation of existing agreements and plans of action. 

• It also emphasized the protection of victims of human trafficking involved in online scams. 

• The declaration appreciated India’s leadership in strengthening regional security cooperation.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)