DELHI: If going from Delhi to Bangkok by road sounds like a super fun idea to you, make sure you follow the Friendship Motor Car Rally from Delhi to Bangkok. The rally is being organized from November 13 to December 3, 2016 and will conclude at Bangkok.
The Friendship rally will be flagged off by India’s Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Mansukh Lal Mandaviya from the India Gate lawns in Delhi. It will cover a distance of 5,722 KMs along the IMT Trilateral Highway between India, Myanmar and Thailand.
Ceremonial flag off will also be held in other cities and state capitals enroute like Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Patna, Siliguri, Guwahati, Shillong, Kohima and Imphal and in cities in Myanmar and Thailand. About 80 participants from all the three countries will join the rally in 20 Indian made vehicles.
A trial run of passenger vehicles on the IMT Trilateral Highway up to Naypitaw in Myanmar was carried out during 9-14 November, 2015. Indian vehicles travelled to Myanmar on Imphal -Mandalay -Bagan- Naypitaw route and back. Vehicles from Myanmar joined the Indian vehicles on the return journey from Naypitaw to Imphal and returning to Myanmar.
The aim of the rally is to improve connectivity by road in the South East Asian region and to sensitize stakeholders of India, Myanmar and Thailand Motor Vehicle Agreement regarding potential benefits of such a regulatory regime. It will further cement cultural and economic ties among the three nations and highlight the potential benefits of connectivity and integration in the region and in keeping with India’s focus on its close neighborhood.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had initiated a significant step for negotiating a Trilateral Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) among India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT).
This agreement seeks to regulate seamless movement of both passenger and cargo vehicles among these three countries by providing a regulatory regime for mutual recognition of documents and harmonisation of procedures and related standards.
The implementation of the IMT Trilateral Highway, along with regulatory framework in the proposed IMT MVA for movement of vehicles of the 3 countries on this route, would form part of an important element of India’s “Act East Policy”.
i
