Colombo, November 11: Health ministers of BIMSTEC member countries unanimously adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement at their first meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, setting out priorities for regional cooperation on disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness and digital health. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda led the Indian delegation.
Delegations from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand attended. The meeting was chaired by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr Nalinda Jayatissa. It followed a decision at the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in April 2025 to set up a dedicated mechanism for health ministers.
What was agreed
The statement backs Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3. Its priorities include disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, early warning systems, antimicrobial resistance, digital healthcare, traditional medicine, climate-related health responses and capacity building. It proposes exploring a BIMSTEC Digital Health Framework covering telemedicine, interoperable electronic health records and artificial intelligence for diagnostics and disease modelling.
Ministers also adopted the Revised BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Public Health (2026–2030) and agreed to hold health ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings every two years. Thailand’s offer to host the second meeting in 2028 was welcomed.
Traditional medicine centre in Jamnagar
India will host the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as a regional hub for research, academic exchange, capacity building and standards. The meeting also welcomed a proposed Regional Centre of Excellence for Public Health in Sri Lanka, a Centre of Excellence on Tropical Medicine in Thailand and Bangladesh’s proposal for a Regional Zoonotic Disease Observatory and Early Warning System.
“No country should be left behind in its pursuit of better health outcomes,” Nadda said, offering to share India’s experience in primary healthcare, digital health and public health infrastructure. He cited more than 1.85 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, cashless hospital cover of up to ₹5 lakh a year per eligible family under AB PM-JAY covering over 60 crore people, and more than 50 crore teleconsultations on eSanjeevani.
Ambulances and health kiosks for Sri Lanka
India and Sri Lanka exchanged an MoU for India to supply 100 more fully equipped ambulances to Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya emergency ambulance service, with grant assistance of SLR 1,725.73 million (about USD 5.28 million). India will also support the purchase of 50 medical kiosks, or health ATMs, for Sri Lanka’s Arogya primary health centres, with grant assistance of up to SLR 225 million, as part of a USD 450 million package announced after Cyclone Ditwah.
Nadda also met Nepal’s Minister for Health and Food Safety, Neesha Mehta, to discuss bilateral and regional health cooperation.
Related: BIMSTEC Home Ministers adopt Delhi Declaration on terrorism, drugs and trafficking