MVA a step forward to regional connectivity

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) signed a 'historic' agreement in Thimpu, capital city of Bhutan, this week opening their borders to motor vehicles of each other for both passenger and freight transit.
The four-nation Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA), according to many analysts, is a landmark deal to open up enormous economic opportunities in this South Asian sub-region.
The transport ministers attending the meeting held before the signing ceremony decided also to run a car rally across the four regional countries in October. They, however, see it as a demonstration of opening up a broader horizon for peoples' movement and interactions in multifarious fields, including trade and commerce, in this era of globalisation.
The deal allows vehicles to ply the designated routes in the four countries and reduce cost and time of unloading and loading of people and goods at the borders, making cross-border trade more efficient.
It will facilitate the transit of all types of vehicles between the contracting parties, like the case in the European Union (EU) countries. As per rules, when a vehicle travels from Nepal to Bangladesh through India, the owner must pay fees to both the Indian and Bangladesh authorities. Besides, no vehicles are allowed to board passengers and carry goods in the middle of a country.
The authorised officials of the host country, if they want, will be able to search the vehicles which must have insurance coverage and will need to conform to prohibitions and restrictions under the provisions of the MVA.  But the sticking points with regard to customs clearance and border check-points have been incorporated in order to allow unfettered movement of man and material.
However, many believe the sub-regional move is an initiative parallel to the proposed South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) MVA and remains open to other neighbouring countries. The agreement was done in line with the regional concept. This could not be materialised due to reservation of one member -- Pakistan -- in November last year.
In fact, the initial accords on sub-regional connectivity were struck in Bangladesh during Indian Premier Narendra Modi's much-hyped visit to Dhaka this month. Bangladesh assumes high geophysical importance under such transit arrangement for having maritime gateways through ports on the Bay of Bengal.
Tasks ahead are enormous that include formalisation of the agreement, including the protocols, by August this year. The negotiation and approval for the bilateral agreements and protocols will be completed by September while the pre-requisites for implementing the deals will be ready by December this year.
Transport analysts see these tasks as challenging. Most of the concerned countries, except India, lack necessary infrastructures for implementing the MVA. Expertise in information technology (IT) systems, tracking, and regulatory systems is an urgent necessity. The MVA is set to be implemented in a staggered way beginning from October this year. Yet how far the concerned nations are ready for it remains yet a big question.
Most of these countries need to build new roads and upgrade the existing ones. There should be adequate network of railway and waterway infrastructure. This is now lacking in most of the countries. More energy grids will need to be set up and air links, also be upgraded in the region in order to ensure smooth cross-border flow of goods, services, energy, capital, technology and people. In such a way, regional connectivity can be substantially enhanced in a seamless manner.
Many say effectiveness of the MVA will be realised at the time of taking it forward through different stages. Hopes are abound that the deal would move forward in right direction by meeting the country's connectivity needs with landlocked Nepal and Bhutan and removing hidden barriers like non-tariff and para-tariff ones, to trade and transactions of business with the neighbouring countries.
The agreement, as transport analysts say, will definitely bring tangible changes in people-to-people movement and trade to deal with many hassles which now exist with the member-countries, involving particularly India. However, issues of taxation and benefits of trade and business with member countries need to be given utmost importance with a view to attaining logical demand of the country.
On its part, Bangladesh needs to take an appropriate strategy for promotion of the sub-regional trade by playing well the card of its geographical location and infrastructure facilities like seaports. More homework should be done in formalising protocols, standards and operating procedures of the MVA to get a fair slice of economic benefits from it.
In fact, full gains from the deal will be available when road and border infrastructure will be ready. Upon implementation, the deal will help transform transport corridors linking the four countries into economic corridors and enhance people-to-people contact. Apart from the movement of bulk goods, the tourism industry in the country and across the region will also receive a significant boost as travel times and costs are reduced considerably.
The ball has, now, started rolling in the right direction with the governments of all the four countries committing to realistic implementation of the MVA. Is it a prelude that the 'dysfunctional' SAARC is finally shaping up to be a body that is going to be the driver for economic change in the region? Many are now raising this question.         szkhanfe@gmail.com