Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Friendship Motor Car Rally was flagged off from Silchar, Assam. The international rally aims at highlighting connectivity in the sub-region and seamless movements of vehicles across the borders in the 4 nations through implementation of BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA). Key facts The Car Rally has been jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Kalinga Motor Sports Club (Odisha) in partnership with the counterpart clubs of the neighbouring countries. The 19-days rally will culminate at Kolkata (West Bengal) on December 2, 2015 next after covering the capitals of Indian states and neighbouring countries. The rally will cover total 4,500 km distance across three countries- India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Nepal is skipped due to political tension in some areas of the country. It will cover Jharkhand (Ranchi), Bihar (Patna), Sikkim (Gangtok), Bhutan (Timphu), Assam (Dispur), Meghalaya (Shillong), Tripura (Agartala) and Chittagong and Dhaka in Bangladesh. Once implemented, BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement would lead to economic integration of the region and help to improve bilateral relations between 4 neighbouring countries.
To highlight the sub-regional connectivity and the scope and opportunities for greater people-to-people contact and trade, there was a BBIN Friendship Motor Rally in Oct. 2015. It was decided by the Transport Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal assembled at Thimpu. Highlighting its importance, Union Minister, Shri Nitin Gadkari said, “This car rally will not only highlight advantages of connectivity in the region, but also help and demonstrate the practical framework of BBIN Agreement to facilitate cross border movement of vehicles.”
To finalize the route of the rally, BBIN Ministers flagged off the route survey vehicle on 15th of June 2015.