BIMSTEC nations adopt Delhi Declaration to combat regional terrorism

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has adopted the Delhi Declaration, a comprehensive framework aimed at strengthening counter-terrorism efforts across the seven-nation bloc. The declaration emerged from a meeting of home ministers and senior law enforcement officials, who committed to enhanced coordination in tackling transnational terror threats affecting the region.

Key provisions of the declaration focus on disrupting terror financing networks, combating militant recruitment drives, and addressing the misuse of emerging technologies by extremist groups. Member states have pledged to strengthen intelligence sharing, enhance border security cooperation, and implement stricter regulations on financial transactions linked to terrorist organisations operating within South and Southeast Asia.

Bangladesh's participation in the meeting was marked by the attendance of a senior official from its Home Ministry rather than the home minister himself. This diplomatic representation did not impede consensus among the member states, which include India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan, on the urgency of coordinated counter-terrorism action.

The declaration represents a significant step in BIMSTEC's evolving security cooperation framework. Officials indicated that the commitment would be operationalised through working groups tasked with developing specific protocols for inter-agency coordination and capacity building among member nations' law enforcement and intelligence agencies.