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Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed to skip BIMSTEC meeting in New Delhi
Home ministers of the member states are scheduled to meet on Tuesday.
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Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will skip the first-ever meeting of home ministers of the BIMSTEC grouping in New Delhi.
A delegation led by a senior bureaucrat set to represent Dhaka amid strained ties between India and Bangladesh, news agency PTI reported.
Home minister Amit Shah said India is honoured to host the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on 13 October 2026.
“India is honored to host the First BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on 13 October 2026. I extend a warm welcome to the Hon’ble Home Ministers and member state delegations. This historic meeting underscores our shared resolve to combat terrorism, transnational organized crime, narcotics radicalization, trafficking, illicit financial flows, and cyber threats. Through decisive coordination, we remain committed to building a safer, stronger, and more secure BIMSTEC region,” he wrote in a post on X.
BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs meeting
Earlier this year, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval hosted the 5th Meeting of the BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi, bringing together delegations from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to discuss regional security cooperation and emerging strategic challenges.
The meeting underscored the growing importance of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) as a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, two of the world's most dynamic regions connected through the Indian Ocean. Over the years, BIMSTEC has expanded cooperation across key sectors, including regional security, disaster management, transport and trade connectivity, technology and people-to-people exchanges.
A key outcome of the meeting was the adoption of guidelines for the maritime component of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). The guidelines are expected to enable BIMSTEC member states to coordinate and undertake relief operations across the region more effectively and in a time-bound manner during natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
What is BIMSTEC
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
It aims at promoting economic and technical cooperation among countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and in its neighbourhood.
Bangladesh assumed the BIMSTEC chairmanship in April 2025.
