India has become the 71st country to ratify the United Nations TIR Convention.

Managed and developed by IRU, the world road transport organisation, TIR is the global standard for goods customs transit.

The milestone decision puts India and her neighbours at the centre of efforts to increase overland trade and regional integration across South Asia and beyond, fast-tracking the region’s potential to become a strategic trade hub.

TIR will help India to integrate with Myanmar and Thailand as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. It will also enable India to move cargo along the International North-South Transport Corridor via Chabahar port in Iran, to access landlocked Afghanistan and the energy-rich Eurasian region.

The accession to the TIR Convention is part of India’s multi-modal transport strategy that aims to integrate the economy with global and regional production networks through better connectivity.

Umberto de Pretto, IRU Secretary General, in a press statement issued from Geneva, said, “I am delighted to welcome India into the TIR family of nations. This is an important step in harmonising standards and boosting transport, trade and development across South Asia.”

“We look forward to working closely with the Indian government and business community as we turn our attention now to implementing the TIR system,” he added.

TIR will be critical in helping India implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which entered into force this year.

The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty that was concluded at Geneva on 14 November, 1975 to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international road transport. TIR stands for "Transports Internationaux Routiers" or "International Road Transports".