BIMSTEC Home Ministers Mechanism Important for Internal Security: Secretary-General
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PM Modi told the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok that the Home Ministers' mechanism could play a major regional role in combating cyber crime, cyber security threats, terrorism, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. He proposed that India would hold the first-ever BIMSTEC Home Ministers Meeting this year.
The institutionalisation of the Home Ministers' Mechanism within seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping is an "important" regional initiative to combat internal security challenges facing the region, Secretary-General (SG) Indra Mani Pandey told Sputnik India in an interview in Bangkok.
"The meeting will drive the focus of BIMSTEC member states on the internal security challenges," remarked Pandey.
"What we need to understand is that so far, to deal with all these matters, we just had a joint working group. There was no mechanism even for the meeting of home secretaries. So, with the home ministers' mechanism, there will also be a meeting of the home secretaries to prepare for the ministerial meeting," Pandey stated.
"What we need to understand is that so far, to deal with all these matters, we just had a joint working group. There was no mechanism even for the meeting of home secretaries. So, with the home ministers' mechanism, there will also be a meeting of the home secretaries to prepare for the ministerial meeting," Pandey stated.
Pandey, who heads the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka, explained that there was a "transnational dimension" to many of the internal security challenges that the BIMSTEC countries had been facing.
"Like human trafficking, it is an internal security challenge, but it has an external dimension. Similarly, drug trafficking is an internal security challenge with an external dimension. The same goes for organised crime. We are also aware of the challenge we face due to criminals engaged in digital crime. All these challenges will be dealt with by the home ministers,' explained the Secretary-General.
The organisation's chief said that India, being the host of the security pillar of BIMSTEC, was a natural choice for hosting the first-ever meeting this year.
Under the security pillar, there are three sub-sectors - counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC), disaster management and energy security.
The other pillars are – Trade, Investment and Development (Bangladesh); Environment and Climate Change (Bhutan); People-to-People Contacts (Nepal); Agriculture and Food Security (Myanmar); Science, Technology and Innovation (Sri Lanka) and Connectivity (Thailand), according to a brief by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Giving more details about the cooperation under the Security pillar of BIMSTEC, Pandey said that the seven countries have already negotiated a BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking. He added that there was also a convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
We have ongoing negotiations for a convention on extradition and another one on transfer of convicted persons. There will also be a convention on human trafficking," Pandey said.
Pandey said that the BIMSTEC nations have already agreed to a five-year action plan on cyber security, which was agreed upon in January.
Highlighting the main outcomes of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit, Pandey said that the 'Bangkok Vision 2030' document calls for taking concrete steps in various areas of cooperation.
Under the security pillar, there are three sub-sectors - counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC), disaster management and energy security.
The other pillars are – Trade, Investment and Development (Bangladesh); Environment and Climate Change (Bhutan); People-to-People Contacts (Nepal); Agriculture and Food Security (Myanmar); Science, Technology and Innovation (Sri Lanka) and Connectivity (Thailand), according to a brief by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Giving more details about the cooperation under the Security pillar of BIMSTEC, Pandey said that the seven countries have already negotiated a BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking. He added that there was also a convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
We have ongoing negotiations for a convention on extradition and another one on transfer of convicted persons. There will also be a convention on human trafficking," Pandey said.
Pandey said that the BIMSTEC nations have already agreed to a five-year action plan on cyber security, which was agreed upon in January.
Highlighting the main outcomes of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit, Pandey said that the 'Bangkok Vision 2030' document calls for taking concrete steps in various areas of cooperation.
"The Summit Document encapsulates the vision of Thailand for a prosperous, resilient and open BIMSTEC," he said.
