Travel Guide - SAARC » Bhutan

Bhutan Woos Investors from Bangladesh

Tour Guide — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:42:18 +0000

A team of Bhutanese delegates from the chamber of commerce is in Dhaka to encourage foreign investment in Bhutan.Bangladesh and bhutan has been engaged in commerce for centuries but the volume has so far been conservative. Bhutan’s main exports to Bangladesh are Vinegar, Vegetables, tobacco,wool and some processed foods while Importing Garments, pharmaceuticals,and electronic equipment from them. The delegation aims to diversify imports from bangladesh and invited investors to visit Bhutan to do field work for possible investments. Bhutan has always stressed the need for development of industries while conserving its extensive virgin forests and preserving complex ecosystems in the ranges and depths of this mountainous kingdom.
Bhutan and Bangladesh both members of SAARC are expected to take advantage of the various trade agreements that are being set up in the SAARC. These trade agreements encourage cross border investment and reduce barriers to trade within the block.This visit from the 16 member delegation could also possibly open talks on Bhutan using the Mongla Port in Bangladesh which is closer and less congested than the Indian Port of Kolkata. Bhutan being a landlocked country needs access to vital sea ports via their neighbors.

Bhutan the Kingdom of the Dragon

Tour Guide — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:02:33 +0000

Bhutan The kingdom of the dragon, has a long history and a strong cultural background. Originally it is thought that people migrated from Tibet. Theses aboriginal bhutanese also known Monpa planted the seed of a nation in one of the highest reaches of earth. Bhutan is a land locked nation full of rugged and often steep mountains. The country borders India (another SAARC country), Tibet (currently administered under China). Compared to other SAARC countries it is a modest 47, 0000 square Kilometers and a population of (estimated) 675,000.

The country has recently seen the transition from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional Monarchy. This together with a more open approach to promoting tourism in the country has brought the country to a new modern era. Bhutan conservative by tradition was one of the last countries to formally make televisions and internet legal.

India over the centuries has forged a strong relationship and even trains the local army. Bhutan and India are the only two SAARC countries that allows visa free passage and non restricted working conditions for their citizens across the border.Indian and bhutan also share another dream of SAARC, a common currency. Theses two countries formally recognize each-other’s currency as legal tender. This is quite a significant achievement for the region as it seeks to extend this to all SAARC members and we hope one day would be a reality.

Trongsa Dzong, Bhutan. Photo taken April 24, 2002. Copyright (c) 2002 by William L. Devanney,Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation license“.

Bhutan Economy

Guide — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:20:17 +0000

The economy, one of the world’s smallest and least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 60% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India’s through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India’s financial assistance. The industrial sector is technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Model education, social, and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Each economic program takes into account the government’s desire to protect the country’s environment and cultural traditions.

For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. Hydropower exports to India drove GDP growth to over 20% in 2007

History of Bhutan

Guide — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:59:52 +0000

The Bhutanese name for Bhutan, Druk Yul, means ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’. There is proof leading Bhutanese history back to AD450, although many of the intervening events remains unsolved by many. Guru Rinpoche is believed to have brought Mahayana Buddhism to Bhutan from Tibet in the eighth century. Bhutan, the world’s last Buddhist kingdom, first became a coherent political entity around the 17th century and a interesting fact to be taken note of is that Bhutan has never been conquered by any foreign power.
Trade agreements with India have been essential to the Bhutanese economy since the 1940s. But Bhutan has occasionally turned over its support to its other great neighbor, China. Over the years, relations with China have been dominated by the issue of Tibet; thousands of refugees entered Bhutan after the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 and the country has become a centre for Tibetan exile politics.

The refugee issue also dominates relations with Bhutan’s other neighbor, Nepal. Bhutanese refugees are housed in camps in the east of the country. Most are ethnic Nepalese whose citizenship is in dispute. The Nepali government wants them to go back to Bhutan but they are not wanted by the Bhutanese too.