India and Afghanistan are likely to ink a bilateral motor vehicle agreement in May in order to pressurise Pakistan, which is blocking New Delhi’s regional connectivity plans. The agreement is likely to be signed during the upcoming visit of Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani to New Delhi.
The agreement will allow Afghanistan goods vehicle to cross Attari, check-post into Delhi, which will enhance bilateral trade with Afghanistan, besides bolstering regional connectivity.
The pace of bilateral trade has remained slow largely due to connectivity remaining a stumbling block. According to the government figures, the bilateral trade stood at $684m in 2014-15 ($422m export and $ 262m import by India).
An official stated that trade relations can improve if the Wagah-Attari route is opened for bilateral trade. The Pakistan-Afghanistan trade and transit pact has not had any positive impact in this regard.
He said that with this transit agreement, Afghanistan can better leverage Indian policy of giving greater market access to the least developed countries from the SAARC region. For the pact to be successful, Pakistan will have to come on board, he added.
In the absence of a bilateral motor vehicle agreement with Pakistan, Indian vehicles cannot enter Pakistan.
Afghanistan has already signed the transit and trade agreement with Pakistan in 2010 that allows both countries to enter each other’s territory. But in absence of a pact with India, Afghanistan vehicles could come up to Wagah, the last check-post on Pakistan side, unload their goods and return.
From Wagah, the goods were again transported to Attari from where they were picked up by Indian transporters. But the larger aim seems to be Afghanistan asking Pakistan to let Indian vehicles travel to Afghanistan and central Asia.
“The move will give some more leeway to Afghanistan to bargain with Pakistan. Pakistan has wanted to go to Central Asia via Afghanistan but the move has been resisted by Afghanistan. The latter demanded reciprocity vis-a-vis India,” said a Union road transport and highways ministry official.
India had earlier planned to sign the agreement during Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to India in 2015.
Talks to have a bilateral MV agreement between India and Afghanistan started after Pakistan backed out from an ambitious project for South Asian road connectivity in November 2014. The Saarc motor vehicle pact would have allowed free movement of passenger and cargo vehicles within the eight-member Saarc nations: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
India, Iran and Afghanistan have already signed the Trilateral Transport and Transit corridor agreement in May 2016 during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran.
Sources are also reported to have said that an Indian delegation is due to visit Iran in the second week of May to discuss the protocol for the agreement, which will allow Indian goods to enter Iran through Chhabar port. From there onwards, the goods can be transported through road and rail link to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
