India nudges other BIMSTEC nations for early signing of coastal shipping, motor vehicle agreement

India on Thursday nudged the other BIMSTEC nations to move fast on regional connectivity initiatives – beginning with easing coastal shipping and trans-border movement of vehicles.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar joined his counterparts in the other BIMSTEC nations for a virtual meeting and called for early finalisation of the long-pending Coastal Shipping Agreement and the Motor Vehicle Agreement. The BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers, however, endorsed a master plan for transport connectivity for adoption at the next summit of the seven-nation bloc in Sri Lanka this year.

They also approved three pacts for signing at the next summit – the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the Memorandum of Understanding on mutual cooperation between diplomatic academies and training institutions of the BIMSTEC member states and the Memorandum of Association on the establishment of the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Colombo.

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The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a bloc comprising seven littoral and landlocked countries dependent on Bay of Bengal.

New Delhi is keen on the early signing of the proposed BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement and the BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle Agreement to boost regional trade within the Bay of Bengal region.

The Motor Vehicle Agreement will pave the way for hassle-free movement of cargo and passenger vehicles across borders in the BIMSTEC region that comprises seven nations, including five of the eight SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) members. The Coastal Shipping Agreement will apply to shipping within 20 nautical miles off the coastlines of the BIMSTEC nations and will hence require smaller vessels and involve lesser cost and time.

If signed, ratified and brought into force, the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters will allow measures to locate, freeze and forfeit or confiscate any funds or finances meant for the financing of all criminal acts in the territory of any of the members of the bloc.