Union Cabinet Nods for BIMSTEC Convention in Criminal Matters

The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi gave its approval for the BIMSTEC Convention on mutual legal assistance in Criminal Matters.

BIMSTEC

• It is the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
• It comprises seven countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand
• It mainly covers cooperation in commerce, technology, investment, agriculture, tourism, human resource development, fisheries, transport and communication, textiles, leather etc

BIMSTEC Convention

• The establishment of regional arrangements for mutual assistance in criminal matters will greatly contribute to more effective cooperation in the control of criminal activities among the BIMSTEC countries
• The convention will help in investigation and prosecution of crimes, including crimes related to terrorism, transnational organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and cyber crimes
• The Instrument of ratification of convention will be submitted before the Secretary general of BIMSTEC and will come into action within 30 days

Points to know

• BIMSTEC formed in 1997
• Headquarters – Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Secretary- General- Sumit Nakandala