India is hosting the BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise in Sri Vijaya Puram from October 30 to November 3. Ships from member countries are participating in the exercise to strengthen maritime cooperation and improve operational coordination in the Bay of Bengal.

In a post on X on Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the exercise is one of the key initiatives announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Thailand.

He said, 'Inaugurated on 30 October, the exercise comprises three days of Tabletop Exercises, followed by a two-day Harbour Phase, with ships from BIMSTEC member countries participating.'

Highlighting its importance, Jaiswal said, 'The exercise translates the shared vision of BIMSTEC leaders into action, reinforcing maritime cooperation, enhancing operational coordination and interoperability, and contributing towards a safe, secure and stable maritime environment in the Bay of Bengal.'

Earlier, on October 13, India hosted the first Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Home Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi. The meeting focused on strengthening regional cooperation against terrorism, transnational organised crime, narcotics, radicalisation, trafficking, illicit financial flows and cyber threats.

Under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, India and other member countries approved five regional security initiatives. These include the BIMSTEC Convention against trafficking in persons, a plan of action on drug control, an MoU on capacity building to combat money laundering and terror financing, a plan to prevent illicit financial flows, and a plan to improve preparedness and coordination in addressing natural disasters in the Bay of Bengal region.

The meeting also adopted the Delhi Declaration, reaffirming the commitment of member countries to regional security, trust and cooperation.

BIMSTEC has seven member states connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka represent South Asia, while Myanmar and Thailand represent Southeast Asia.

The regional grouping brings together 1.7 billion people, accounting for 22 per cent of the world's population. Its combined gross domestic product stands at USD 5 trillion.