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The Meeting of Transport Secretaries of India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) on Cross-Border Transport Facilitation was held on 14 July 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand to prepare the implementing protocols for inclusion in the final draft of the IMT Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA). This was preceded by a Customs Sub-group Meeting on 13 July 2015, which focused on Customs-related protocols of the IMT MVA.

The Meeting agreed:

• On the substantive contents of all articles and schedules for the proposed draft protocols, including Customs-related protocols, in the final draft of the MVA;
• To hold the IMT Ministerial Meeting in Myanmar in November 2015 for the signing of the IMT MVA by the Transport Ministers of the three countries;
• On the way forward in implementation of the MVA, including ratification of the IMT MVA by the three countries; preparation, negotiation, and approval of bilateral and trilateral implementing arrangements from July-September 2015; and installation of prerequisites to MVA implementation, including institutions, regulatory systems, information technology systems, and infrastructure, from September 2015-November 2016.

This Meeting was organized by the Ministry of Transport of Thailand with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Heading the transport and Customs delegations of India, Myanmar, and Thailand were: Mr. Vijay Chhibber, Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, India; Mr. Chit Ko Ko, Director General, Road Transport Administration Department, Ministry of Rail Transportation, Myanmar; and Mr. Seraphop Chuengsman, Principal Advisor on Land Transport Economics, Ministry of Transport, Thailand. Staff and consultants of ADB supported the Meeting.

The IMT MVA will allow passenger, personal and cargo vehicles to cross international borders and travel along designated key trade routes in the participating countries, reducing costly and time-consuming transshipment of people, vehicle and goods at border crossings, and making cross-border trade more efficient. The IMT MVA will be the first-ever cross-border transport facilitation agreement between the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia. This Meeting is in follow-up to a meeting held in Bengaluru, India on 2-3 June 2015, also coordinated by ADB, which finalized the draft of the IMT MVA.