BBIN can take SAARC's place, experts say

The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) grouping can make regional cooperation a success, something that SAARC failed to achieve.

That appears to be the consensus of experts from the four nations who deliberated at a two-day conference (Feb 16-17) in Kolkata.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman, who wrapped up the deliberations at the conference, said the 2015 Motor Vehicles Agreement was the "first step" towards making BBIN a success.

"If the Motor Vehicles Agreement can be operationalised soon, such agreements could be worked out in other forms of transport to achieve high levels of multi-modal connectivity," Atiur Rahman said.

Rahman said "existence of political will is crucial to making regional cooperation a success."

"That exists in the BBIN, all the four countries are keen to connect and grow together," he added.

Rahman was backed by Pradeep Mehta, secretary-general of the Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) International, that organised the Kolkata conference to initiate a study into operationalising the BBIN agreement.

The DFID of UK, the Indian government and US Consulate is backing the study, which CUTS is starting with help from NGO partners in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

CUTS International Secretary general Pradeep Mehta (left) addresses the conference with former Bangladesh Bank chief Atiur Rahman (second from left) on the stage.

"The BBIN will work because all the four nations are determined to make it a success. The Motor Vehicles Agreement is only a start to ensure seamless movement of goods and people," Mehta said.

He stressed the need to look at BBIN as a platform to first create a transport corridor for trade facilitation and then slowly developed it into an economic corridor for sub-regional growth.

"South Asia is one of the least integrated regions of the world, but it is also one of the fastest growing. It is important to improve trade facilitation and cut down costs and other hurdles for trade within the region as the step towards regional cooperation," Mehta said.

But Mehta insisted that India must get her eastern states to back the process.

"India will have to handle the states, because if they create hurdles like has been the case with river water sharing, the process may get adversely affected," Mehta said.

Abhishek Sharma of Trade Mark East Africa made a presentation on the East African experience in building regional corridors and suggested the BBIN process could benefit by looking at that.