Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA)

In News 

• Recently, India, Bangladesh and Nepal finalised an enabling memorandum of understanding (MoU) for implementing the long-gestating Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA)
  • Bhutan participated in the meeting as an observer. The MoU was finalised “pending ratification of the MVA by Bhutan”

                                                    Image Courtesy :ET

Major highlights 

• 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.
• The countries emphasised the importance of operationalising the BBIN MVA expeditiously to enable seamless movement between them for facilitating trade and people-to-people contact.
• The delegates agreed on specific steps and timelines to expeditiously finalise the Passenger and Cargo Protocols for the implementation of the BBIN MVA. 

About Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement

• Origin: 
  • The original BBIN MVA was signed by all four countries in June 2015, but after objections in Bhutan over sustainability and environmental concerns, the Bhutanese parliament decided not to endorse the plan, and former Prime Minister Tobgay Tshering’s government agreed to allow the other three countries to go ahead with the project for vehicular movement (BIN-MVA) in 2017.
    •  In 2020, Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said that given Bhutan’s “current infrastructure” and top priority to remaining a “carbon-negative” country, it would not be possible to consider joining the MVA. 
• Roles of other institutions:
  • Asian Development Bank(ADB) provided technical and knowledge support to the meeting.
    • ADB has supported the project as part of its South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation programme, and has been requested to prioritise about 30 road projects worth billions of dollars.

•  The World Bank, which has estimated that the implementation of the MVA will potentially see an increase in traffic-regional trade within South Asia by nearly 60%, has also announced its interest in supporting infrastructure.

• In February 2022, the World Bank South Asia programme for BBIN listed projects worth $750 million, for which loans were in “the pipeline”. 
• They included upgrading border checkposts and land ports in Bangladesh with a view to upgrading both physical and commercial infrastructure.

Significance 

• Operationalising the MVA by concluding the Passenger and the Cargo Protocol will help realise the full potential of trade and people to people connectivity between the BBIN countries by fostering greater sub-regional cooperation.
• It  will promote safe, economical, efficient and environmentally sound road transport in the sub-region and will further help each country in creating an institutional mechanism for regional integration. 
• BBIN countries will be benefited by mutual cross border movement of passengers and goods for overall economic development of the region. 
• The people of the four countries will benefit through seamless movement of goods and passengers across borders 
• Therefore ,it will boost regional trade and connectivity.

Issues 

• Progress on the project has been slow, nonetheless, despite several trial runs being held along the Bangladesh-India-Nepal road route for passenger buses and cargo trucks. 
•  There are still some agreements holding up the final protocols, including issues like insurance and bank guarantees, and the size and frequency of freight carriers into each country, which they hope to finalise this year before operationalizing bus and truck movements between them.

Way Forward 

• 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 delegates agreed on specific steps and timelines to expeditiously finalise the Passenger and Cargo Protocols for the implementation of the BBIN MVA. 

Source:TH