Nitin Gadkari to flag off Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will flag off Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service tomorrow.

"Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Nitin Gadkari will flag off Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi bus service tomorrow from DTC Bus Terminal at Ambedkar Stadium," an official statement said here.

Earlier, the Cabinet approved the signing of bilateral agreement for the regulation of passenger traffic between India and Nepal on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC Summit in Kathmandu.

The Cabinet has also authorised the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to sign similar bilateral agreements and protocols with other SAARC member states.

"The SAARC Transport Ministers, at their second meeting in Colombo on July 25, had approved the recommendations of Inter Governmental Group on Transport ( IGGT) to set up an Expert Group to negotiate and finalise the text of the draft regional agreement on Motor Vehicles for SAARC Member States," the statement said.

The Expert Group on the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, in its third meeting held at Neemrana (Rajasthan) on September 7 & 8 this year, considered and finalised the draft text of the agreement which was endorsed in the fifth meeting of the SAARC IGGT held on September 30 in New Delhi.

"This Agreement provides for the member states allowing the vehicles of other member states to ply in their territory for transportation of cargo and passengers subject to various terms and conditions in the Agreement and obtaining permits for such transport from the member states as per procedure and protocols prescribed in the Agreement," the statement said.

The Agreement once signed will result in closer regional economic cooperation and integration through enhanced regional connectivity by allowing movement of goods and passengers in the region through road transport.