India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan agree to discuss rail agreement

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have agreed to hold talks on the possibility of “BBIN Rail Agreement” drawing on the draft Saarc Regional Rail Agreement template.

India was the first to take the BBIN initiative and start discussions on sub-regional theme like water resources and connectivity.

Joint Working Groups decided:

To constitute an Experts Group for exchanging best practices in water resources management and on specifics of the identified projects, power trade, inter grid connectivity, flood forecasting and other areas of possible cooperation.
To commence discussion on the possibility of having a BBIN Rail Agreement drawing on the draft SAARC Regional Rail Agreement template.(The BBIN railway service agreement would be framed in accordance with the draft proposal of the SAARC Railway Service Agreement)
Land ports and land customs stations crucial for sub regional trade and transit would be given priority attention by all four countries.
Specific hydropower projects under BBIN framework that could be concretised on equitable basis .

Joint Working Groups recent development:

In June 2014, BBIN had signed the Motor Vehicle Agreement for free movement of goods and passengers among the four countries.

Under the deal, a tourist from any of the four countries can travel in his/her own car without restrictions.

What is BBIN?

The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative is a sub regional coordinative architecture of countries in South Asia.

It operates through Joint Working Groups (JWG) comprising official representation from each member state to formulate, implement and review quadrilateral agreements.

Areas of cooperation include water resources management, connectivity of power grids, multi-modal transport, freight and trade infrastructure.

The priority for member states had been identified as “connectivity”, embodied by seamless electrical grids, shared access to road, rail, air and port infrastructure, and ease of travel.

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