India hosts the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting in New Delhi under Amit Shah's chairmanship

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India hosts the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting in New Delhi under Amit Shah's chairmanship

13 October 2026

India hosted the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting in New Delhi on 13 October 2026, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Delegations from all seven members attended: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The ministers approved a BIMSTEC Convention against Trafficking in Persons, a Plan of Action on Drug Control, an MoU on capacity building to combat money laundering and terror financing, a Plan of Action on Illicit Financial Flows and a plan on natural-disaster preparedness in the Bay of Bengal region. The meeting adopted the Delhi Declaration on security cooperation. Shah urged members to help make operational the BIMSTEC Disaster Management Centre planned at Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Meeting: First BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting Chair: Amit Shah Members present: 7 Declaration adopted: Delhi Declaration

Why it matters for exams: Regional groupings such as BIMSTEC and India's role in them are staple questions in both Kerala PSC and UPSC papers.

Kerala PSCUPSCSSC

13 October 2026 Source: Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs)

In plain words

BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation — A seven-member grouping of countries around the Bay of Bengal.