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India is hosting the BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise in Sri Vijaya Puram from October 30 to November 3, with ships from BIMSTEC member countries participating in the exercise aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation and enhancing operational coordination in the Bay of Bengal.
In a post on X on Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is hosting the exercise as one of the key initiatives announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand. He said, "Inaugurated on 30 October, the exercise comprises three days of Tabletop Exercises, followed by a two-day Harbour Phase, with ships from BIMSTEC member countries participating." Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Jaiswal said, "The exercise translates the shared vision of BIMSTEC leaders into action, reinforcing maritime cooperation, enhancing operational coordination and interoperability, and contributing towards a safe, secure and stable maritime environment in the Bay of Bengal." The exercise is among the key initiatives aimed at advancing regional maritime security cooperation among BIMSTEC member countries. Earlier, on October 13, India hosted the first Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Home Ministers meeting in New Delhi with a focus on strengthening regional cooperation to tackle terrorism, transnational organised crime, narcotics, radicalisation, trafficking, illicit financial flows and cyber threats. India and other BIMSTEC member countries approved five key regional security initiatives, including agreements on human trafficking, drug control, money laundering, terror financing and illicit financial flows, at the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' Meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The meeting also adopted the Delhi Declaration, reaffirming the commitment of member countries to strengthening regional security, trust, and cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region. The five initiatives approved by the Home Ministers include the BIMSTEC Convention against trafficking in persons, the BIMSTEC plan of action on drug control, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on capacity building to combat money laundering and terror financing, a plan of action on illicit financial flows and their prevention, and a plan of action to enhance preparedness and coordination in addressing natural disasters in the Bay of Bengal region. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprises seven member states connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka from South Asia, and Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia. The BIMSTEC region brings together 1.7 billion people, accounting for 22 per cent of the world's population, with a combined gross domestic product of USD 5 trillion. (ANI)
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