New Delhi [India], July 16 (ANI): India virtually hosted the 4th BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise from July 14-15, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement on Wednesday.

As per the MEA, the Exercise was organised by the National Disaster Management Authority of India as a Tabletop Exercise.

It witnessed the participation of disaster management professionals from BIMSTEC Member States to assess and enhance regional preparedness for cyclones and floods.

MEA said that the participants presented details of national disaster management architectures, engaged in simulated scenarios, evaluated response frameworks and shared best practices to strengthen coordination for disaster response across the region.

The details of the Exercise were also shared by BIMSTEC in a post on X.

https://x.com/BimstecInDhaka/status/1944994643386450312

India has always stood by its partners in the region as the first responder in times of crisis. The Exercise further strengthened cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region towards disaster preparedness, response and resilience.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a grouping of seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal.

MEA in an official statement had noted that BIMSTEC is a unique link connecting South Asia with South-East Asia - five Members from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two from South-East Asia (Myanmar and Thailand). The BIMSTEC region brings together 1.7 billion people - 22 per cent of world population with a combined GDP of USD 5 trillion.

The organization came into existence on June 6, 1997 through the 'Bangkok Declaration'. \

It was originally formed with four Member States with the acronym 'BIST-EC' (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following inclusion of Myanmar in December 1997, it was renamed 'BIMST-EC' (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). With the inclusion of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004, the name of the grouping was changed to BIMSTEC. (ANI)