India hosted the first-ever BIMSTEC home ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on 13 October 2026, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, according to the Press Information Bureau. Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed was reported by Prothom Alo to be skipping the meeting, with Dhaka to be represented by Home Ministry Senior Secretary Monzur Morshed Chowdhury.
The meeting comes nearly three decades after BIMSTEC’s founding through the Bangkok Declaration on 6 June 1997. Members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
What Is on the BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Agenda?
Prothom Alo says the agenda covers counter-terrorism, cross-border crime, human trafficking, drug smuggling, money laundering, terror financing and law enforcement coordination. Leaders agreed at the 2018 Kathmandu summit to hold regular home ministerial meetings, and a concept paper was approved at the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in April 2025. Input came from the 11th Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, held in Delhi on 28–29 September.
Who Attended and Who Stayed Away?
Pre-meeting reports named Bhutan’s Home Minister Lungten Dorji, Myanmar’s Home Minister General Ko Ko Oo, Nepal’s Home Minister Sudan Gurung, Sri Lanka’s Home Minister Chandana Aberathne and Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Interior Songsak Thongsri. Mr Gurung’s visit was described by the Kathmandu Post as his first foreign trip since taking office. A senior officials’ meeting chaired by Home Secretary Govind Mohan was due on 12 October.
Prothom Alo cited unnamed senior officials saying Bangladesh’s decision reflects strain in bilateral relations with India; no official reason was given, and the article carried no direct Indian government comment on the absence. Bangladesh has chaired BIMSTEC since April 2025, and its capital Dhaka hosts the secretariat.
Market and Trade Reaction
No market or trade reaction was found; this is a security-cooperation meeting. The outcomes of the 13 October meeting, such as any joint statement or agreed mechanisms, were not available in the sources reviewed at the time of writing.
What Happens Next?
Watch for a joint statement or outcome document from the meeting and for any signal on how Bangladesh, as BIMSTEC chair, engages on follow-up work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BIMSTEC?
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a seven-member regional grouping founded in 1997.
Who chaired the BIMSTEC home ministers’ meeting?
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the meeting in New Delhi on 13 October 2026.
Why did Bangladesh’s home minister skip it?
No official reason was given. Unnamed officials told Prothom Alo it reflects strained bilateral ties with India.
Sources: Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs, 13 October 2026); Prothom Alo (11 October 2026); Kathmandu Post (5 October 2026).
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