India, Bangladesh, and Nepal finalise MoU for implementation of BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement

Bangladesh, India, and Nepal held a meeting to discuss the passenger and Cargo protocols to operationalize the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA). The two-day meeting held in Delhi concluded on Tuesday. Bhutan participated in the meeting as an observer. This is the first meeting of the group since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The last meeting was held in February 2020 in New Delhi.

The meeting discussed the protocols to operationalize the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement for the regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, signed on June 15, 2015, said a press release of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
During the meeting, an enabling MOU to be signed by India, Bangladesh, and Nepal for implementation of the BBIN MVA by the three countries, pending ratification of the MVA by Bhutan was finalized. Recalling the commitments made at the highest level for implementation of the BBIN MVA, the delegations expressed their desire to sign the MoU at the earliest to give momentum to the implementation.
The countries emphasized the importance of operationalizing the BBIN MVA expeditiously to enable seamless movement between them for facilitating trade and people-to-people contact. Operationalizing the MVA by concluding the Passenger and the Cargo Protocol will help realize the full potential of trade and people-to-people connectivity between the BBIN countries by fostering greater sub-regional cooperation.

The delegates agreed on specific steps and timelines to expeditiously finalize the Passenger and Cargo Protocols for the implementation of the BBIN MVA. Asian Development Bank provided technical and knowledge support to the meeting