Shah urged members to work within their national laws and existing agreements so that criminals are brought to justice. Screengrab: @AmitShah
Amit Shah urges BIMSTEC nations to step up cooperation against terrorism
At the grouping’s first Home Ministers’ Meeting, Shah calls for closer coordination on counterterrorism, terror financing, organised crime and intelligence-sharing
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked BIMSTEC countries to work more closely against terrorism and organised crime, and to track terrorist funding.
Speaking at the first Home Ministers’ Meeting of the grouping, he named counterterrorism and law enforcement as the areas that need tighter coordination. No country in the region should become a safe haven for terrorist groups, he said.
Shah said each member’s security arrangements must also take its neighbours’ safety into account.
Terrorist groups should not be allowed to set up bases or training centres anywhere in the region, he said, adding that they should not be able to raise funds there, or to use one member country against another.
BIMSTEC members urged to strengthen legal cooperation
On extradition and mutual legal assistance, he urged members to work within their national laws and existing agreements so that criminals are brought to justice.
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Intelligence agencies, he said, should pass on actionable information through existing channels, and in time. That covers terrorists and their associates, criminal networks, financial links and cross-border activity.
Flags drug smuggling and terror financing
The Union Home Minister further stated narcotics smuggling is beyond any one country to stop. It takes cooperation among BIMSTEC members.
"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.
BIMSTEC brings together 7 regional countries
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
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It aims to promote economic and technical cooperation among countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and in its neighbourhood.
(With agency inputs)