Bhutan recently announced that it is unable to proceed with the Motor Vehicles Agreement with Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
What is BBIN?
It is the regional sub-grouping India had planned for ease of access among the four countries.
It was an alternative proposed by the government after Pakistan rejected the Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu in 2014.
It seeks to allow trucks and other commercial vehicles to ply on one another’s highways to facilitate trade.
Of the other SAARC members, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are not connected by land, and Afghanistan could only be connected if Pakistan was on board.
What are the consequences?
After Bhutan’s decision, India, Nepal and Bangladesh will have to decide whether to wait for Bhutan to reconsider or to press ahead with a truncated ‘BIN’ arrangement.
Reconsidering will not be easy as the main concern expressed by Bhutanese citizen groups and politicians is over increased vehicular and air pollution.
The upper house of parliament has refused to ratify the MVA that was originally signed by all four BBIN countries in 2015.
What should be done?
It should be seen as a road block, and not a dead end.
Despite the setback, New Delhi must persevere with its efforts.
Dry runs have been conducted along the routes, and officials estimate the road links could end up circumventing circuitous shipping routes by up to 1,000 km.
Bhutan’s concerns may be eased if India considers the inclusion of waterways and riverine channels as a less environmentally damaging substitute.
A similar initiative for the Asian Highway project under the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor got a boost this week as the countries moved to upgrade the dialogue to the governmental level.
Connectivity is the new global currency for growth and prosperity and India must continue to make the most of its geographic advantages.
