Speaking at the first-ever gathering of BIMSTEC Home Ministers, Amit Shah called on member states to collectively close off any avenue through which armed groups might establish a presence in the region — covering safe havens, recruitment, training facilities, funding channels, and cross-border operational activity.
Delegates at the inaugural BIMSTEC gathering — convened under the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation — took up an agenda spanning eight shared security concerns, among them organised crime networks, the movement of narcotics, human trafficking, illicit flows of money, radicalisation, cyber threats, and acts of terrorism.
The position outlined by Shah described a stance of no tolerance for acts of terrorism. He called on countries across the region to provide mutual assistance on extradition matters and legal cooperation, grounded in domestic legislation and applicable treaty obligations.
Addressing fellow ministers, Shah put forward the view that bolstering any one member country's defences contributes to broader stability across the region as a whole. He conveyed that India's aim centres on fostering stability, safety, and shared prosperity throughout the Bay of Bengal area.
Shah argued that the BIMSTEC bloc needed to put in place a unified, region-wide strategy against drug trafficking. He stated that no single nation's efforts are sufficient to address the problem, calling for a coordinated regional response that draws all parties into a shared framework of action.
Revenue from narcotics trafficking, Shah noted, provides organised crime with a substantial financial base that can also flow toward the funding of terrorist activity. He noted that the routing of precursor chemicals away from legitimate supply chains, alongside transactions carried out through dark-web marketplaces, adds further layers of difficulty to that problem.
Shah's statement described criminal operations that move freely across borders while taking advantage of gaps in local-level oversight. He stated that effective responses to such threats require intelligence units, law enforcement bodies, financial oversight functions, and border management operations to share information and act in concert.
Shah recalled remarks made by Prime Minister Modi at the BIMSTEC summit in 2025, in which Modi put forward the view that the grouping functions as more than a conventional regional bloc — describing it instead as a template for inclusive development and collective security across the area.
Shah put forward the view that broadening the collaborative framework into an operational arrangement would be the appropriate path forward. Five agenda items took shape in his remarks: narcotics suppression, counterterrorism measures alongside legal cooperation, the return of fugitive offenders, cyber-security and the investigation of cybercrime, and frameworks for institutional partnership and capacity development.
Speaking to reporters, Shah pointed to a track record of returning wanted criminals from multiple countries to stand trial as evidence of progress on extradition matters. He identified tightening cross-border enforcement — so that those involved in criminal or terrorist activity have no avenue of escape — as among the priorities for BIMSTEC member states to pursue collectively.
Spanning South Asia and Southeast Asia, the bloc draws together seven nations — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand — under a single regional framework. Founded in 1997, the organisation brought together nations along the Bay of Bengal and its surrounding region to advance shared goals in economic development and technical cooperation.
According to Shah, BIMSTEC has taken shape as a forum where regional integration, economic cooperation, and collective security can be pursued together. He noted that India has historically articulated a foreign policy philosophy rooted in peaceful coexistence and broader human welfare, drawing on the ancient concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
