Bangladesh–Bhutan relations are the bilateral relations between

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

. The

King of Bhutan The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk ...

was the first world leader to announce an official recognition of Bangladesh's independence on 6 December 1971. The leadership of both countries have since exchanged many state visits. In 2016, the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

addressed the

Parliament of Bhutan The Parliament of Bhutan ( dz, རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་ཚོགས་ཁང་ ''gyelyong tshokhang'') consists of the King of Bhutan together with a bicameral parliament.Constitution: Art. 1, § 3; Art. 10 This bicameral parliament is ...

. On 6 December 2020, both countries signed a

Preferential Trade Agreement A preferential trade area (also preferential trade agreement, PTA) is a trading bloc that gives preferential access to certain products from the participating countries. This is done by reducing tariffs but not by abolishing them completely. It ...

(PTA) with provisions for free trade in certain goods. The signing of the PTA was witnessed by the

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...

and the Prime Minister of Bhutan. Both countries are founding members of SAARC. The two states cooperate within the framework of the UN and

BIMSTEC The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic pro ...

. Both countries are part of the

Climate Vulnerable Forum The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is a global partnership of countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. The forum addresses the negative effects of climate change as a result of heightened socioeconomic ...

. Bhutan's

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of parliament has voted to not ratify a regional transport pact involving

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

and Bangladesh.

History

Ancient cities in Bangladesh traded with

Himalayan states The term Himalayan states is used to group countries that straddle the Himalayas. It primarily denotes Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; some definitions also include Afghanistan and Myanmar. Two countries—Bhutan and Nepal—are loc ...

. The fort city of

Bhitagarh Bhitargarh ( bn, ভিতরগড়) is an archaeological site that includes the remains of an ancient fort city built in and around the 5th century AD. It is located in Panchagarh District in Rangpur Division in the northern part of Bangladesh ...

in north Bengal was a center of trade with Bhutan. Mahayana Buddhism in Bhutan and Tibet was influenced by the

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

of Bengal. During the 13th century, an Islamic invasion of Tibet was launched from Bengal which may have crossed Bhutan near the

Chumbi Valley The Chumbi Valley, called Dromo or Tromo in Tibetan, is a valley in the Himalayas that projects southwards from the Tibetan plateau, intervening between Sikkim and Bhutan. It is coextensive with the administrative unit Yadong County in the T ...

. During

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

in the region, Bhutan ceded the

Dooars The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...

under the Treaty of Sinchula in 1865 after the

Bhutan War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutan War) was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864–1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British India commissioned ...

in the northern part of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. Bhutan became a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

of British India in 1910. After the partition of India in 1947, Bhutan signed an Indo-Bhutan Treaty of Friendship with the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

in 1949. Bhutan relied on India for guidance on foreign policy and there was little contact with

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

. On 21 September 1971, Bhutan joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. On 6 December 1971, in one of its first assertive acts in foreign policy, Bhutan announced its recognition of East Pakistan as an independent Bangladesh. As the Bangladesh Liberation War approached the defeat of West Pakistani forces, the King of Bhutan sent a telegram to Acting President

Syed Nazrul Islam Syed Nazrul Islam ( bn, সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম, Soiyod Nozrul Islam; 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was declared a ...

of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh on the morning of 6 December 1971. Bhutan became the first state in the world to recognize the new country. It was later followed in the day by India. Below is a text of the telegram: The fourth king of Bhutan travelled to Bangladesh for state visits in 1974 and 1984. In 1980, Bhutan and Bangladesh signed a trade agreement for Most Favored Nation rules. In 1985, Bhutan attended the inaugural summit of the

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan ...

(SAARC) in Dhaka. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh attended the 16th SAARC Summit in Bhutan in 2010. In 2012, Bangladesh posthumously bestowed one of its highest honors on the third king of Bhutan for his support to Bangladesh's independence war in 1971. Past Bangladeshi ambassadors to Bhutan have included senior diplomats M. Aminul Islam,

Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali ( bn, আবুল হাসান মাহমুদ আলী; born 2 June 1943) is a Bangladeshi politician and diplomat who served as parliamentarian and cabinet minister including the Foreign Minister of Banglades ...

and Syed Muazzem Ali among others. The first female ambassador of Bhutan Pema Choden served as the kingdom's ambassador to Bangladesh. The Queen Mother of Bhutan visited Bangladesh in 2016 during which she toured facilities of BRAC and pharmaceutical, textile and ceramic companies.

Lotay Tshering Lotay Tshering ( dz, བློ་གྲོས་ཚེ་རིང་; born 10 May 1969) is a Bhutanese politician and surgeon who is the current Prime Minister of Bhutan, in office since 7 November 2018. He has also been the president of Druk ...

, an alumnus of Bangladeshi universities, became Bhutan's premier in 2018. Bangladesh sent emergency medicine supplies to Bhutan during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Economic ties

Bangladesh is the largest buyer of Bhutanese

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

s and

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

s. The volume of bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $57.90 million in fiscal year (FY) 2018–19. Bhutan exports chemicals, pulp, boulders, fruits and vegetables to Bangladesh. Bhutan imports garments, food products, plastics, pharmaceuticals, furniture and electrical products from Bangladesh. Bangladesh is exploring investments in Bhutan's

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

sector as of 2020. Plans include a joint Indo-Bangladeshi investment of US$1.25 billion for Bhutan's 1,125-MW Dorjilung hydropower plant.

Preferential trade agreement

Bangladesh signed a preferential trade agreement with Bhutan on 6 December 2020. According to this agreement, 100 products of Bangladesh will get duty-free access to Bhutan and 34 Bhutanese products that will get duty-free access to the Bangladeshi market.

Climate change

Bhutan and Bangladesh are part of the

and the V20 Group of Finance Ministers. Melting glaciers and

rising sea levels Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...

are major concerns in both countries.

References

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