Context: Recently, India, Bangladesh and Nepal have finalized a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for implementing the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement(MVA).

About BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement:

• The BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) was signed in 2015 at the BBIN transport ministers meeting in Thimpu, Bhutan to ensure the free flow of goods and people between them.
• The agreement would permit the member states to ply their vehicles in each other’s territory for transportation of cargo and passengers. Cargo vehicles will be able to enter any of the four nations without the need for trans-shipment of goods from one country’s truck to another’s at the border.
• Notably, each vehicle would require an electronic permit to enter another country’s territory, and border security arrangements between nations’ borders would also remain.

Assistance: Asian Development Bank(ADB) has been providing technical, advisory, and financial support to the BBIN MVA initiative as part of its assistance to the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program.

• Though the original BBIN MVA was signed by all four countries, after objections in Bhutan over sustainability and environmental concerns, the Bhutanese Parliament decided not to endorse the plan.
• Progress on the project has been slow, despite several trial runs being held.

Why has Bhutan decided to stay out of BBIN MVA?

• Bhutan PM has said that the country’s top priority is to remain “carbon-negative”. That’s why it would not be possible for them to join the MVA as there are serious sustainability and environmental concerns.

Note: Bhutan is the only country in the world that is carbon negative, which means it produces more oxygen than it consumes.

Road Ahead

• The Motor Vehicles Agreement of the sub-regional Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal grouping would help realise the full potential of trade and people to people connectivity between the BBIN countries by fostering greater sub-regional cooperation.