BIMSTEC, UNODC sign MoU to address non-traditional security concerns

In order to cooperatively address the urgent non-traditional security issues in the region and beyond, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

According to a news release released today by the BIMSTEC secretariat in Dhaka, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed in conjunction with the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 4.

On behalf of their respective organizations, Anubha Sood, Regional Representative of the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia, and Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC, signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
 
According to the announcement, the BIMSTEC leaders hailed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding as a major step toward strengthening interregional cooperation.

According to the statement, the Memorandum of Understanding established a framework for cooperation in promoting cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism, illegal drugs, and transnational organized crime in the Bay of Bengal region, formally establishing the future engagement between UNODC and BIMSTEC in areas of shared interest.

The seven Bay of Bengal nations that make up BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Agriculture and food security, connectivity, the environment and climate change, human-to-human interaction, research, technology, and innovation, security and commerce, and investment and development are the seven main areas in which it seeks regional collaboration.

Eight sub-sectors are also covered by the partnership: energy, disaster management, fisheries and livestock, poverty alleviation, human resource development, the blue economy, the mountain economy, and health.

The UN body tasked with tackling the problems of terrorism, organized crime, drugs, and corruption is the UNODC.

It assists governments in putting international treaties into force, keeping an eye on world events, and creating laws, policies, and initiatives that work.

With offices in almost 150 nations, UNODC provides training to professionals in a variety of domains, including law enforcement, health, and justice.