The MVA, approved by the Cabinet last week, is to be signed in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu on Monday. India will be represented by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
The original MVA under the larger South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) framework could not be agreed upon last year in November during the summit of Saarc leaders in Nepal due to resistance from Pakistan. As a result, a diluted version was negotiated among BBIN countries.
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The MVA looks at regulation of passenger, personal and cargo movement, thereby facilitating trade and investment in the sub-region. This has been developed with the support of Asian Development Bank (ADB), under its South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation programme.
However, the agreement to be signed on Monday focuses on passenger bus movement in these countries. The modalities to kick-start seamless cargo movement are yet to be negotiated , according to a senior official in the ministry of external affairs.
The container traffic will be required to move only through a specific BBIN corridor having authorised routes through stipulated immigration check points and land customs stations as notified by the contracting parties.
Besides, not all customs stations will be recognised for the entry of containers from neighbouring countries. Any deviation from the route will be treated as violation of the permit conditions and of the relevant customs laws.
According to the official, all these are yet to be discussed under the BBIN framework. The routes have not been identified and agreed upon. The process will also entail identification of the drivers who will drive these trucks, issuance of their passports and obtaining necessary permits.
"As of now it will only help facilitate passenger buses among BBIN countries. As you have noticed, the prime minister has inaugurated a couple of buses between India and Nepal and Bangladesh and India. Some more are in the pipeline. To regulate those, a regional agreement in BBIN is required," said another official involved in drafting the agreement.
Negotiations are also pending for identification of route maps, location of permitted rest or recreation places, tolls and checkposts. The agreement stipulates a three-year deadline within which this has to become operational.
"This will be a symbolic agreement. More discussions and negotiations are pending. Implementation of the agreement will take a long time as far as movement of cargo is concerned, although passenger routes do not require such stipulations. Signing of the protocols will remain a key challenge. Making the agreement work will be different task altogether," highlighted Prabir De, professor, Research and Information System for Developing Countries.
The government is also hoping that by the next Saarc summit, likely to take place in Pakistan next year, this will be subsumed under the Saarc MVA, once all member countries ratify it. The agreement stipulates that each party bear its own costs arising from implementation of this agreement. It also states that countries will have to bilaterally fix the rate of fees, service charge and administrative costs, which is yet to be done.
All these will take place when all the four countries negotiate these issues and sign protocols. Thereafter, standard operating procedures will have to be put in place at the notified border crossings and corridors.
"The agreement does not clarify transit issues, especially between the northeast region and rest of India through Bangladesh. There is no plan for convergence on transport structure such as axle load. The dispute settlement clause is also unclear," said the official.
The MVA was envisioned under the previous United Progressive Alliance government in 2010. The initial plan was to allow free movement of container traffic within each other's countries. The plan was to allow the trucks coming from the neighbouring countries to reach till their destination and unload there while picking up load on their way back.
The BBIN MVA is expected to reduce transaction costs, recognise each other's motor vehicle acts, acknowledge each other's driving licences and vehicle registration.
According to Sonoko Sunayama, economist at ADB: "The lack of efficient through transport arrangements between and among countries in the region has been holding back the realisation of greater trade and economic exchanges along road corridors connecting the BBIN countries. The MVA will reduce transport costs and foster the development of multimodal transport and transit facilities that will increase connectivity and promote greater trade between BBIN countries."