Health ministers of the BIMSTEC bloc, meeting for the first time in Colombo, have unanimously adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement on regional health cooperation and a revised Plan of Action on Public Health for 2026–2030.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda represented India at the meeting in Sri Lanka. The dedicated health ministers' mechanism follows a decision taken at the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in April 2025.
What the ministers agreed
The Joint Ministerial Statement reaffirms commitment to Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3. It sets priorities for disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, early warning systems, antimicrobial resistance, digital health, traditional medicine, climate-related health responses and capacity building. It also proposes exploring a BIMSTEC Digital Health Framework covering telemedicine, interoperable electronic health records and the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostics and disease modelling.
The revised Plan of Action is a roadmap for cooperation on surveillance, pandemic preparedness, digital health, traditional medicine, One Health and the health workforce.
The meeting welcomed a proposed BIMSTEC Regional Centre of Excellence for Public Health in Sri Lanka, a Centre of Excellence on Tropical Medicine in Thailand and India's initiative for a Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine. It also welcomed Bangladesh's proposal for a Regional Zoonotic Disease Observatory and Early Warning System.
India's offer and its bilateral steps
Nadda cited India's 1.85 lakh-plus Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme (cashless cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family, covering over 60 crore people), investments under PM-ABHIM, and the eSanjeevani telemedicine service, which has crossed 50 crore teleconsultations. He offered to share India's experience, technology and capacity-building with member countries.
With Sri Lanka, India exchanged a memorandum of understanding for the supply of 100 additional fully equipped ambulances and announced support for 50 medical kiosks, or "Health ATMs". Nadda also met Nepal's health minister and the Indian community in Colombo.
Photos
Source: official release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (11 NOV 2026 5:05PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: India Strengthens Regional Health Partnerships as First BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting Unanimously Adopts Joint Ministerial Statement in Colombo.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2335080) issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 11 NOV 2026 5:05PM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.India Strengthens Regional Health Partnerships as First BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting Unanimously Adopts Joint Ministerial Statement in Colombo — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
