Home Minister Sudan Gurung heads to India for first BIMSTEC security talks
Gurung will join counterparts from six other member states in New Delhi on Tuesday for the regional bloc’s first home ministers’ meeting, his first foreign trip since taking office.
Home Minister Sudan Gurung left for India on Monday to attend the first meeting of home ministers from member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), scheduled to take place in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The trip marks Gurung’s first official foreign visit since he took office.
Home ministers from all seven BIMSTEC member states—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand—are expected to attend the meeting. A meeting of home secretaries from the member states will precede the ministerial gathering.
Established in 1997 as a regional organisation, BIMSTEC is holding a meeting of its home ministers for the first time.
“The home ministers will discuss issues recommended at meetings of home secretaries and national security advisers held at different times,” an official familiar with the meeting said.
At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, held in Kathmandu on August 30-31, 2018, leaders of the member states pledged to strengthen cooperation and coordination among their law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies.
Anil Giri is a Chief Sub Editor covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for more than two decades, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
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