Home Minister Sudhan Gurung proposed establishing a BIMSTEC Regional Disaster Preparedness and Response Framework at the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ level meeting in New Delhi, India, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. Gurung also called for a joint working group to advance the proposal, which aims to address growing disaster risks linked to climate change.
A regional approach to disaster risks
The proposed framework would place disaster preparedness and response on the agenda for cooperation among BIMSTEC members. Gurung’s proposal recognizes that disaster risks are increasing in the context of climate change and that preparedness and response are issues requiring attention beyond a single country. The ministry’s account identifies the framework as a regional initiative, rather than a standalone national programme.
Preparedness and response are both part of the proposal’s stated scope. Preparedness focuses on readiness before a disaster, while response concerns action when one occurs. By bringing both into the proposed framework, Gurung has called for BIMSTEC to consider the two connected dimensions together. The proposal, however, is a call to develop a framework; the ministry’s announcement does not describe a finalized regional system or specific measures already adopted.
The minister also proposed forming a joint working group for the purpose. Such a group would provide a mechanism to work on the framework, pairing the broader regional proposal with a proposed body to take it forward. The Ministry of Home Affairs did not provide further details in its announcement about the group’s membership, mandate or timeline.
First BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ meeting
The proposal was made at the first meeting of BIMSTEC home ministers, held in New Delhi. The gathering brought the issue of disaster preparedness into a ministerial-level forum for the regional grouping. As the first meeting of its kind, it also provided a setting for member countries’ home ministers to discuss areas of shared concern, including the climate-related risks highlighted by Gurung.
The meeting’s significance for this proposal lies in the regional platform it offers. A framework developed through BIMSTEC could give countries a shared basis for considering preparedness and response, while a joint working group could be tasked with developing the idea further. Those are the aims implied by the proposal, not confirmation that the framework or group has already been established.
The ministry’s statement did not announce an agreement among the participating countries or provide an implementation plan. Instead, it reported Gurung’s proposals at the meeting. Any next steps would depend on how BIMSTEC members consider the framework and the proposed working group.
Climate change behind the proposal
Gurung’s call was framed around growing disaster risks caused by climate change. The statement did not identify particular hazards or set out country-specific assessments. It presented climate change as the reason for seeking a regional preparedness and response framework, keeping the proposal focused on cooperation around a shared risk.
The initiative would therefore begin with two linked proposals: develop a BIMSTEC-wide framework and form a joint working group to work on it. The minister’s intervention at the group’s first Home Ministers’ meeting has put regional disaster preparedness on the agenda, while leaving the details of any future arrangement to be worked out through further cooperation.
