Ensure terror does not find haven: Amit Shah at Bimstec meet

NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah Tuesday said the shared resolve of Bimstec nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand - should be to ensure terrorist networks are not allowed to find safe havens, recruit members, provide training, raise terror funds or carry out activities against neighbouring countries from any part of the Bay of Bengal region. Addressing the first Bimstec home ministers' conference - which concluded in Delhi with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration that reaffirms shared commitment of member countries to strengthening regional security, trust and cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region by responding to shared challenges such as terrorism, violent extremism, drug-trafficking, organised crime, cybercrimes, money laundering, terror financing and smuggling of arms "in the spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility" - Shah said Bimstec is not just a regional organisation but "has become an essential platform for regional integration, economic cooperation and collective security". Shah listed five key areas of cooperation - drug control, counter-terrorism and legal cooperation, repatriation of fugitives, cybersecurity, and institutional cooperation and capacity building. Equating drug trafficking with death trafficking, he stressed the need to adopt a "whole of region" approach to fight the menace. Also recalling the proposal of PM Modi to establish a Bimstec disaster management centre in India, he said it will be coming up in Jamnagar, Gujarat, underscoring India's role as a 'first responder' in disaster management across the region. The meeting approved the Bimstec convention against trafficking, Bimstec plan of action on drug control and an MoU on capacity building to combat money-laundering. With scam compounds in South East Asia not only committing trans-national cyber frauds but also forcing trafficked victims from other countries to commit cybercrime from their premises, the declaration stressed the urgency of cooperation among the states of origin, transit and destination of victims.

The declaration also condemned terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, with Bimstec nations reiterating their resolve to prevent and eliminate these threats in a comprehensive manner. The home ministers expressed deepest condolences and solidarity with the victims of terrorism attacks in member states and their families, as well as with govt of the affected states, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.