Bimstec to fight terror unitedly

The first meeting of national security chiefs of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), comprising India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal, which was held in the national capital on Tuesday decided to take concrete measures to increase cooperation and coordination among their intelligence and security agencies.

The meeting was chaired by national security advisor Ajit Doval where it was decided to set up a “Track 1.5 Bimstec Security Dialogue Forum” among the strategic community. All Bimstec members were also invited for a counter radicalisation conference, expected to be held in June, on counter radicalisation to be hosted by India.

Among others who attended the security meeting included Major General Tarique Ahmed Siddique (Retd) (Bangladesh), Sonam Topgay (Bhutan), Thaung Tun (Myanmar), Singha Bahadur Shrestha (Nepal), Brig M.D.U.V. Gunatilake (Sri Lanka), Vera Urairat (Thailand) and Sumith Nakandala, secretary general of Bimstec. The delegation later called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi stressed on the need for collective fight against terror and radicalisation by the member countries of Bimstec. PM said the Bimstec member states should also work together to address nontraditional security threats, such as in the domain of cyber security and in maritime domain.