Part of: Prelims and GS-II International relations
Context: Bangladesh, India, and Nepal held a meeting to discuss the passenger and Cargo protocols to operationalize the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA).
Bhutan participated in the meeting as an observer.
This is the first meeting of the group since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key takeaways
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, which was signed on June 15, 2015.
During the meeting, an enabling MOU to be signed by India, Bangladesh, and Nepal for implementation of the BBIN MVA by the three countries was finalized.
Ratification of the MVA by Bhutan is pending.
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.
What is BBIN?
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative is a subregional architecture of countries in Eastern South Asia, a subregion of South Asia.
It meets through official representation of member states to formulate, implement and review quadrilateral agreements across areas such as water resources management, connectivity of power, transport, and infrastructure.
