Bhutan–Pakistan relations refer to foreign relations between

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 ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. Relations have been active at least since 2004. Both nations are members 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) and 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 ...

. Neither country has a resident ambassador. They are both

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 ...

and have two common neighbours – China and

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 ...

. Bhutan has close relations with India while Pakistan has close relations with China. But Pakistan's relations with India are more tense, so India has at times viewed Pakistani approaches to Bhutan with suspicion.

History

Bhutan and Pakistan have had links for centuries. In 1971, Bhutan was one of the first countries to recognize the

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

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 ...

as independent

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 ...

Scholarships

Pakistan offers scholarships to Bhutanese students, particularly in medicine and engineering.

Trade

Major exports from Pakistan are

cotton yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactur ...

, articles of textile materials, cotton fabric (woven), sports goods and leather. Imports by Pakistan include raw jute, crude rubber, oil seeds, cork and chemical materials/products. Economic cooperation between the two countries is minimal, owing to high freight rates and difficulties to access landlocked Bhutan. In 2008–2009 the total bilateral trade passed half a million US dollars. In the period 2007–2011 only 11 Pakistanis visited Bhutan as tourists.

Visits

There have been regular contacts between the leaders of two countries at different International Forums, besides the SAARC Summits. Bhutan attended the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad in January 2004. On the sidelines of the Summit, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

had bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Bhutan. In November 2004, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz headed an official delegation to Bhutan, which raised suspicions in their common neighbour, India, that Pakistan may attempt to sabotage Indian interests in Bhutan. In March 2011, the Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchen Jigme Yoser Thinley led a three-day delegation to Pakistan, and met with Pakistani Prime Minister

Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...

. They covered a range of bilateral issues including economic, commercial, investment, educational and cultural links. In June 2012, a delegation of Buddhist monks from Bhutan, travelling with the ambassador, was warmly received by Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who emphasized the need for personal and interfaith contact between the countries. In 2018, a Bhutanese delegation consisting of the Bhutanese Ambassador and Buddhist monks visited Buddhist heritage sites in Mardan District, Pakistan.

Diplomatic representation

Neither country has a resident ambassador. The embassy of Pakistan in Bangladesh is accredited to Bhutan. As of 2022, the Ambassador-designate of Bhutan to Pakistan is Rinchen Kuentsyl, while Imran Ahmed Siddiqui is the Pakistani ambassador to Bhutan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutan-Pakistan relations

Bilateral relations of Pakistan