NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called for stronger regional cooperation among BIMSTEC countries to combat terrorism, disrupt terrorist financing and organised crime, and prevent terrorist networks from finding safe havens in the region.Addressing the first Home Ministers’ Meeting of BIMSTEC countries in Delhi, Shah said India follows a policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism and stressed the need for collective action to strengthen regional security.“Hosting the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting is a matter of great pride and fortune for India. BIMSTEC, in a way, has become an essential platform for regional integration, economic cooperation and collective security. With the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, India is going ahead today,” Shah said.We have always been committed to peace, coexistence and human welfare. We continue to be committed to these even today. India has never believed in attacking any country or establishing dominance over them. India has always believed in upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country and peaceful resolution of differences,” he added.Shah said the trust among BIMSTEC members was strengthened by the belief that the security arrangements of each country should contribute to the security of the others.He called for a collective resolve to ensure that terrorist networks could not find shelter, establish bases or training facilities, mobilise resources or carry out activities against other member countries.“India has always adopted a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against terrorism. The trust in our cooperation is strengthened by the sense that the security mechanism of every member country becomes helpful in the security of other member countries. Our mutual resolution should be to ensure that there is no scope or space for harbouring, recruiting, training, procuring resources, or carrying out activities against neighbouring nations in any part of the region,” he said.The home minister also urged member countries to cooperate on mutual legal assistance and extradition in accordance with their national laws and applicable agreements. He said such cooperation would strengthen efforts to bring criminals to justice.Highlighting counterterrorism and law enforcement as key areas of regional cooperation, Shah called for the exchange of actionable intelligence through existing nodal agencies and closer coordination to tackle terrorist financing and organised crime.He said the timely exchange of verified and actionable information on terrorists, their associates, criminal networks, financial channels and cross-border activities could strengthen collective security.Shah said efforts to curb narcotics smuggling would not succeed through the actions of individual countries alone, calling for a coordinated regional approach.“We must adopt a whole-of-region approach. The illegal proceeds from drugs provide financial strength to organised crime and are also used for terrorist financing. The diversion of precursor chemicals and transactions through the dark web make this challenge even more complex,” he said.
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The minister stressed that cooperation was necessary to tackle the links between drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorist financing.What is BIMSTEC?The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping comprising seven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.The grouping aims to promote economic and technical cooperation among countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and in its neighbourhood.
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