The Ministry of Home Affairs गृह मंत्रालय Ministry of Home Affairs

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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DIVISION

  • The International Cooperation Division is the nodal division for all matters pertaining to finalization/negotiations of agreements/treaties in respect of security cooperation, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and bilateral mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs). It is also the focal point in MHA for work in respect of SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) etc. The Division also coordinates for security clearance in respect of all MoUs/Agreement signed with foreign countries. The Division also coordinates bilateral dialogues/meetings at Home Minister and Home Secretary level.

BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL INITIATIVES

  • The legal framework for combating Crime including International terrorism includes Treaties on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Memorandum of Understandings/Bilateral Agreements to counter Organized Crimes, Joint Working Groups on Counter Terrorism/International Terrorism which are signed between India and other countries on bilateral basis. Such treaties/agreements are with a view to securing bilateral cooperation against various forms of crime like terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting of Indian currency notes.
  • The Ministry also has separate bilateral dialogue/meeting mechanism with many countries like the Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD) with USA, Home Affairs Dialogue (HAD) with UK, Joint Security Committees (JSC) with Israel, UAE, Australia, China, etc. through which issues mutually affecting the countries are deliberated/resolved and to further strengthen cooperation /collaborations.

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters

  • The Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal Ministry for concluding Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties in Criminal Matters which are designed to facilitate measures of mutual assistance in investigation, prosecution and prevention of crime, service of summons and other judicial documents, execution of warrants and other judicial commissions and tracing, restraint, forfeiture or confiscation of proceeds and instruments of crime.
  • These agreements assume importance in combating transnational organized crimes, trans-border terrorism, crimes and other serious offences, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, counterfeit currency, smuggling of arms and explosives, etc.
  • India has so far signed these Treaties/Agreements with 45 countries and one multilateral BIMSTEC convention, namely, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Mongolia, Oman, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Bilateral Agreements/ Memorandum of Understanding on Security Cooperation and Prevention of and Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors, as well as related Offences

  • India has signed 44 bilateral Agreements/Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on security cooperation, narcotic drugs and other related fields with Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom, United State of America, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

Agreements on Mutual Protection of Classified Information

  • With the view to facilitate governmental cooperation, agreements on mutual exchange and protection of classified information have been signed with three countries, namely, Israel, Russia and Ukraine.

BRICS

  • BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging market economies, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
  • The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development and cooperation. It also aims at contributing significantly to the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fair world.
  • The first BRIC Summit took place in Russia, where the elected leaders of the four countries formally declared the membership of the BRIC economic bloc. South Africa joined in December 2010, resulting in BRICS.
  • BRICS has since its inception had a positive effect on the international system. BRICS countries have individually emerged to assume new economic rankings.

BIMSTEC

  • The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States around the Bay of Bengal region. BIMSTEC constitute a unique bridge between south and South-East Asia with five Members from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two from South-East (Myanmar and Thailand).
  • It came into being on 6June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed “BIMST-EC” (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February 2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).
  • Three Summits have been held so far-2004 [Bangkok], 2008 [New Delhi] and 2014 [Nay Pyi Taw]. Nepal is the Current chair of BIMSTEC. Permanent Secretariat of BIMSTEC is operational since September 2014 in Dhaka.

SCO

  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (PRC) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The SCO Charter was signed on 7 July 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003. Its Membership has since expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan joining on 9 June 2017.
  • The SCO is governed by the Heads of State Council (HSC), its supreme decision-making body, which meets once a year.

SAARC

  • SAARC was set up in 1985 as an association of States whose aim was to promote the well-being of the population of South Asia and improve their standard of living; to speed up economic growth, social progress and cultural development; to reinforce links between the countries of this area; and, lastly, to promote mutual collaboration and assistance in the economic, social, cultural technical and scientific fields. The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu (Nepal).