India on Tuesday hosted the first meeting of BIMSTEC Home Ministers here under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with the seven member states adopting the Delhi Declaration and approving a clutch of pacts to tighten cooperation against terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and illicit financial flows.The meeting, preceded by a senior officials’ gathering led by the Union Home Secretary, was attended by delegations from all seven BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.Addressing the meeting, Shah described BIMSTEC as an essential platform for regional integration, economic cooperation and collective security.Carrying forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s formulation at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on April 4, 2025 – “For us, BIMSTEC is not just a regional organisation. It is a model for our inclusive development and security” – Shah said it was now the responsibility of Home Ministers “to translate our cooperation into practical mechanisms that strengthen the safety of our citizens and the capabilities of our agencies.”Reiterating India’s Zero Tolerance policy towards terrorism, the Home Minister called for enhanced cooperation against cross-border organised crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking, as well as emerging cyber threats, stressing timely intelligence sharing, financial investigations, mutual legal assistance and extradition so that criminals and terrorists are brought to justice.“Our shared resolve should be to ensure that terrorist networks are not allowed to find safe havens, recruit members, provide training, raise funds, or carry out activities against neighbouring countries from any part of the region,” Shah said, adding that cooperation in mutual legal assistance and extradition, in accordance with national laws and applicable treaties, could strengthen efforts to bring criminals to justice.He identified five priority areas – drug control, counter-terrorism and legal cooperation, repatriation of fugitive criminals, cyber-security and cybercrime investigations, and institutional cooperation and capacity building – and underlined the need for a coordinated regional approach.Story continues below this adOn narcotics, Shah said drug trafficking was essentially death trafficking. “This is not merely the drug trade, but an attack on the lives of our youth, society, culture, and the future of coming generations,” he said, arguing that no single country could tackle it alone and that a regional approach was needed.Shah also said that the BIMSTEC Disaster Management Centre – planned in Jamnagar, Gujarat – underscores India’s role as a first responder in the region, and urged member countries to participate actively in making it operational. “The security of one member state strengthens the security of the entire region,” Shah said.