Four SAARC members set to sign agreement on cross-border transport

Passenger, personal and cargo vehicles will be able to seamlessly travel along designated key routes in the SAARC countries of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal without the need for trans-shipment of goods and passengers at the border crossings after transport minister of the four countries sign the SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement.

Senior officials from the four countries met at Raichak, near Kolkata, on 2-3 February to finalise a Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for a seamless transit of passenger and cargo vehicles between their countries and draw up plans for its speedy implementation.

Transport ministers of the four countries are expected to sign the agreement at a meeting to be held soon this year.

The agreement will be implemented through protocols that the four neighboring countries will negotiate separately under the framework of the agreement. They agreed to set up individual national committees and a sub-regional joint committee for overall facilitation of land transport and to coordinate and monitor implementation of the agreement.

The sub-regional agreement would be a parallel initiative to the proposed SAARC transport agreement for which ongoing efforts to find early resolution would continue. Further, the membership of this sub-regional agreement would be open to all other neighbouring countries, should they so desire.

Upon implementation, the agreement will reduce costly and time-consuming unloading and loading of people and goods at the border crossing points making cross-border trade more efficient. It would help transform transport corridors linking the four countries into economic corridors and enhance people to people contact.

Building on the progress made in negotiating and finalising the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, this agreement would facilitate the transit of all types of vehicles between the contracting parties as is prevalent in other common markets like the European Union, an official release said.

The delegates of the four-country meeting, which was chaired by Vijay Chhibber, secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways, recognises the urgent need to ease the movement of passenger and goods across their borders to stimulate trade and commerce.

Mohamad Faruque Jalil, additional secretary in the ministry of road transport and bridges of Bangladesh, Kinley Dorji, secretary in the ministry of information and communications of Bhutan, Sanjay Bandyopadhyay, joint secretary of the ministry of road transport and highways of India and Devendra Karki, joint secretary of the ministry of physical infrastructure and transport of Nepal headed the delegation of their respective countries.