RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4336
TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.04.2018
PROTOCOL ON INLAND WATER TRANSIT AND TRADE BETWEEN INDIA AND BANGLADESH
4336. SHRI RITABRATA BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the present status on the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) between India and Bangladesh; and
(b) by when the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are going to be finalized?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V.K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) & (b) The India-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Trade and Transit (PIWTT) was signed in 1972 and has been renewed periodically ever since. It was last renewed for a period of five years, with provision for auto renewal, during the visit of Prime
Minister of India to Bangladesh in June 2015. This Protocol permits the movement of goods on identified inland waterways between India and Bangladesh through specified routes that link points in West Bengal, Bangladesh and Assam. This Protocol is working well
and no additional Standard Operating Procedures are required to facilitate cargo movement within this framework.
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