Some movement in talks on the BBIN agreement
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal have agreed on the need to expeditiously finalise passenger and cargo protocols for implementation of the agreement to regulate the movement of passenger, personal and goods vehicles among the four countries.
The decision to speed up efforts to implement the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (BBIN-MVA) that was signed in June, 2015 was taken at a meeting of senior officials of the four countries in New Delhi yesterday.
The Bangladesh delegation at the meeting was led by Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood, director general for South Asia in the foreign ministry.
This was the first meeting of the group of officials since their meeting in Bengaluru in January 2018, when the two protocols were discussed, said the Indian external affairs ministry in a statement.
Representatives of Bhutan participated in the meeting in the capacity of an observer.
The officials at yesterday’s meeting recalled the commitments made at the highest political level for implementation of the BBIN MVA and the importance of trade, economic cooperation and people-to-people contact through enhanced regional connectivity, including through facilitation of regional cross-border road transport.
They expressed satisfaction over the progress made by each country in internal consultations with their stakeholders for the protocol for movement of passengers.
The meeting also discussed in detail various aspects of the draft protocol for movement of cargo vehicles, discussing the existing draft text jointly for the first time.
In this regard, the delegations of Bangladesh, India and Nepal reaffirmed their understanding that the BBIN MVA safeguards the rights and obligations of all parties under other international agreements and bilateral agreements within the group, including those relating to landlocked countries.
The officials also discussed a draft enabling letter of intent to be signed by Bangladesh, India and Nepal for implementation of the BBIN MVA by the three countries.
The government of Bhutan has provided its consent for the entry into force of the MVA among Bangladesh, India and Nepal without obligation to Bhutan, pending its internal procedures for ratification of the BBIN MVA.
The delegations of Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed to consider expediting the finalisation of the letter of intent, expressing gratitude to Bhutan for offering its consent in this regard, according to the statement.
It was agreed in the meeting that parties will get back by May on the discussions yesterday.
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