Headlines
Open border deal among India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal
Thimpu, June 15
India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal on Monday signed a far-reaching
agreement here that will enhance regional connectivity by facilitating
seamless movement of people, goods and vehicles among the four nations,
with the first phase set to begin in October.
The transport
ministers of the four countries inked the Motor Vehicles Agreement for
the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic
between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN MVA).
India was represented at the meeting by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
"This
(BBIN MVA) would enable the exchange of traffic rights and ease
cross-border movement of goods, vehicles, and people, thereby helping
expand people-to-people contact, trade, and economic exchanges between
our countries," a joint ministerial statement later said.
According
to the statement, all the four countries will endeavour to carry out a
six-month work-plan from July to December 2015 for the implementation of
BBIN MVA. The staged implementation of the project is slated from
October 2015.
During the meeting, Gadkari, who also hold charge
of the shipping ministry, said: "We understand our advantage of linking
with all our neighbours. Simultaneously, we recognise our additional
responsibility to accommodate our neighbours’ concerns."
"We are
and will remain flexible enough to address various challenges faced by
our neighbouring countries and are always ready to support their
initiatives to bridge various deficits."
Under the work-plan for
project implementation, the formalisation of the BBIN MVA is expected to
be completed by August. The installation of project pre-requisites like
IT, infrastructure, tracking and regulatory systems are scheduled by
December 2015.
The joint statement called BBIN MVA a
complementary instrument to existing transport agreements at the
bilateral levels between the four countries. This, it said, will
continue to be honoured by the contracting parties.
The
statement further said that the protocol is also a result of strong
determination expressed by the leaders of the eight-nation South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at their 18th summit in
Kathmandu in November last year to deepen regional integration.
The
leaders also noted with concern the poor merchandise trade under the
free trade pact, which amounted to a mere $3 billion since July 2006.
"We
further recall their renewed commitment to substantially enhance
regional connectivity in a seamless manner through building and
upgrading roads, railways, waterways infrastructure, energy grids,
communications and air links,†the joint statement added.
The
joint statement's reference to the SAARC MVA assumes significance as the
stalled agreement prompted the 18th summit to encourage member states
to initiate regional and sub-regional steps to enhance connectivity. The
BBIN MVA is the culmination of that development.
Gadkari
announced in the meeting that a major breakthrough has also been
achieved between India-Myanmar and Thailand and that the three nations
have agreed to develop a similar framework agreement on the lines of the
draft SAARC MVA.
"Secretary-level discussions were successfully
concluded in Bengaluru this month and consensus has been reached on the
text of agreement," the minister said.
"On conclusion of this
agreement, our sub-region will get access to the larger ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market through seamless
passenger and cargo movement."