.png) | |
 Bhutan |  Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador-designate Rinchen Kuentsyl | non-resident Ambassador Syed Ahmed Maroof |
Bhutan–Pakistan relations refer to foreign relations betweenBhutan andPakistan. Relations have been active at least since 2004. Both nations are members of theSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and theUnited Nations. Neither country has a resident ambassador.
They are bothHimalayan states and have two common neighbours –China andIndia. Bhutan has closerelations with India while Pakistan hasclose relations with China. ButPakistan's relations with India are more tense, so India has at times viewed Pakistani approaches to Bhutan with suspicion.[1]
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Bhutan and Pakistan have had links for centuries.[2] In 1971, Bhutan was one of the first countries to recognize thesecession ofEast Pakistan as independentBangladesh.[3][4][5] The relations between these countries were established diplomatically in 1988. The Bhutan Ambassador to Dhaka is recognized as a non-resident Ambassador to Pakistan while Pakistan's High Commissioner for Bangladesh is simultaneously recognized as a non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan.[6]
Pakistan offers scholarships to Bhutanese students, particularly in medicine and engineering.[7]
Major exports from Pakistan arecotton yarn, articles of textile materials, cotton fabric (woven), sports goods and leather. Imports by Pakistan include rawjute, crude rubber,oil seeds,cork and chemical materials/products. Economic cooperation between the two countries is minimal, owing to high freight rates and difficulties in accessing landlocked Bhutan.[8] In 2008–2009 the total bilateral trade passed half a million US dollars.[9]
In the period 2007–2011 only 11 Pakistanis visited Bhutan as tourists.[10]
There have been regular contacts between the leaders of two countries at different International Forums[which?], besides the SAARC Summits. Bhutan attended the12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad in January 2004. On the sidelines of the Summit, thePresident andPrime Minister of Pakistan had bilateral meetings with thePrime Minister of Bhutan.[11] In November 2004, Pakistani Prime MinisterShaukat 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.[1]
In March 2011, the Bhutanese Prime MinisterLyonchen Jigme Yoser Thinley led a three-day delegation to Pakistan and met with Pakistani Prime MinisterSyed Yusuf Raza Gilani. They covered a range of bilateral issues including economic, commercial, investment, educational and cultural links.[7][12]
In June 2012, a delegation of Buddhist monks from Bhutan, travelling with the ambassador, was warmly received byPakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who emphasized the need for personal and interfaith contact between the countries.[2] In 2018, a Bhutanese delegation consisting of the Bhutanese Ambassador and Buddhist monks visitedBuddhist heritage sites inMardan District, Pakistan.[13]
Neither country has a resident ambassador. The embassy of Pakistan in Bangladesh is accredited to Bhutan.[14] As of 2022, the Ambassador-designate of Bhutan to Pakistan is Rinchen Kuentsyl,[14] while Syed Ahmed Maroof is the Pakistani non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan.[15]
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