BIMSTEC home ministers meet in Delhi for the first time and adopt the Delhi Declaration

The first meeting of home ministers from the member states of BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, was held in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired it, according to The Tribune and a PTI report carried by Nagaland Post. The grouping's members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The day before, The Kathmandu Post reported that Nepal's Home Minister Sudan Gurung had left for India to attend. The paper described the trip as his first official foreign visit since taking office, and said the home secretaries of the member states would meet before the ministers. An official quoted by the paper said the ministers would discuss issues recommended at earlier meetings of home secretaries and national security advisers. The paper also recalled that leaders at the 2018 BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu had pledged closer cooperation among law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies.

What Shah said

According to the PTI report, Shah said India follows a policy of zero tolerance toward terrorism and called on members to strengthen cooperation against terrorism, terrorist financing and organized crime. He said each member's security arrangements should contribute to the security of the others, and that members should collectively prevent terrorist groups from finding shelter, setting up bases or training facilities, raising resources, or acting against other members.

He urged cooperation on mutual legal assistance and extradition in line with national laws and existing agreements, and the sharing of actionable intelligence through existing nodal agencies.

On narcotics, Shah said no single country can stop the problem alone, and called for a "whole-of-region approach." He cited drug proceeds as a source of funding for organized crime and terrorism, and pointed to the diversion of precursor chemicals and dark web transactions as added complications. The Tribune reported that he named five areas for cooperation: drug control, counter-terrorism and legal cooperation, the return of fugitives, cybersecurity and cybercrime investigations, and building institutional capacity.

The declaration and approved initiatives

The Tribune reported that the ministers adopted the Delhi Declaration and approved five regional initiatives:

• a regional convention on human trafficking, covering prevention, offenses and the protection and recovery of victims;
• a plan of action on drug control, aimed at illegal trade in narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals;
• a memorandum on anti-money laundering and countering terror financing, covering training, exchange of practices, and cooperation on financial intelligence, investigations and asset recovery;
• a plan of action on illicit financial flows; and
• a plan of action on disaster preparedness, including joint exercises, early warning and tsunami risk reduction in the Bay of Bengal region.

According to the same report, the declaration reaffirms the members' commitment to regional security and cooperation, calls for action against cross-border terrorism, terror financing, radicalization, drug and human trafficking, cybercrime and organized crime, and prioritizes information sharing, mutual legal assistance, extradition and capacity building.

What the reports do not cover

The PTI report in Nagaland Post describes Shah's calls for cooperation but does not mention any signed agreements or decisions, while The Tribune lists the declaration and initiatives. The reports read do not say whether the convention and memorandum need signature or ratification by each member, or give a timeline for any of the plans.