Draft BIMSTEC motor vehicle pact ready
EASING TRAFFIC WOES Agreement will improve movement and trade between Bay of Bengal nations once it is finalised in Nepal
NEW DELHI: An agreement that improves road connectivity between the Bay of Bengal countries is in the process of being realised.
If it goes according to plan, the movement of traffic and trade will become easier between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of these seven nations and a Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) between them was finalised last month.
It will now be discussed internally and then at the BIMSTEC meeting, which will be held in Nepal later this year.
Established in 1997, BIMSTEC is a regional grouping of seven countries comprising 22% of the global population.
There are 14 sectors that have been identified as priority areas, with transport and communication getting top billing.
According to the MVA, all vehicles from BIMSTEC countries will require one permit to cross the border of a fellow BIMSTEC member.
The permit may be obtained online.
“Once BIMSTEC motor vehicle pact kicks in, the other road connectivity projects in the region, including those between India, Myanmar and Thailand, including the Kaladan multimodal project and the trilateral high- Existing and potential BIMSTEC transport routes Route 1: Kolkata–siliguri– Guwahati–imphal–moreh/ Tamu–mandalay–bago–myawaddy/maesot–tak–bangkok–laem Chabang
Route 2: Kolkata–raxaul/ Birgunj–kathmandu
Route 3: Kolkata–petrapole/ Benapole–jessore–dhaka– Chittagong
Primary border crossing from India into Bhutan is closer to Siliguri. Samdrup Jongkhar is the only entry point in eastern Bhutan from India.
way project, will become part of the arrangement,” said an official with the ministry of road transport and highways on condition of anonymity.
Five countries of BIMSTEC share a land border with India. The Petrapole border checkpoint between India and Bangladesh in West Bengal is the busiest land custom station in Asia and handles more than 60% of India’s border trade with Bangladesh.
The Raxual border checkpoint in Bihar sees over 800 trucks cross over to Nepal every day.
With external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj signing a land crossing agreement with Myanmar on Friday, the BIMSTEC MVA becomes all the more important.
Once signed, the agreement is expected to boost intra- and interregional trade by allowing seamless movement of passenger, personal and cargo vehicles between countries.
Officials will discuss the MVA at the BIMSTEC summit slated for later this year in Nepal.
“Each member country has its internal mechanisms for signing international treaties. Some countries need their parliament to ratify the pact before they sign it,” said an official.
The draft text of the MVA was drawn up by the first working group meeting that took place in India last month.
“A second meeting of transport sector officials of the respective countries will meet again soon to discuss the details of the agreement again,” said a senior official of the union road transport and highways ministry, who did not wish to be named.
A motor vehicle pact that eases movement of cargo and people between the countries has been attempted twice in the past.
At the 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, held in 2014, India proposed an MVA, which was opposed by Pakistan and couldn’t be passed.
In 2015, the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) MVA was signed, but was rejected by the upper house of the Bhutanese parliament.
The BIMSTEC MVA is the third attempt.