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 Bhutan |  United States |
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Bhutan and theUnited States have no formal diplomatic relations, but relations between the two nations are viewed as "friendly and close", due to shared values between the two countries. The increasingly close relationship betweenIndia and the U.S. has also helped to improve U.S.–Bhutanese relations.[1]
Bhutan is represented in the U.S. through its permanent mission to theUnited Nations. The United States is represented through theAmerican embassy inNew Delhi, India. Bhutan is one of two countries in Asia to have never hosted an American embassy, with the other beingNorth Korea.
In 2008, the U.S. offered to resettle 60,000 of the 107,000Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin living in seven U.N. refugee camps in southeastern Nepal.[2]
In 2011, former Prime Minister of BhutanJigme Thinley stated, "If we can have all kinds of interactions, relations and cooperation with the US, as with Germany and France, with which we have no diplomatic relations, what is the purpose (of such relations with Washington)?" On April 7, former U.S. Ambassador to IndiaTim Roemer met with Thinley to discuss ways to further strengthen ties between both countries. Thinley also stated that he had hosted many State Department officials, Congressmen, and Senators for informal talks since he became head of the government in April 2008 after the country’sfirst fully democratic elections.[3]
On January 11, 2015, the then–U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry met with Bhutanese Prime MinisterTshering Tobgay at the seventhVibrant Gujarat summit, marking the first time senior leaders from both countries met with one another. However, there were no plans to establish diplomatic relations.[4] Prior to Secretary Kerry's meeting, the highest-ranking State Department officials to meet with Bhutan's leaders were at theUndersecretary level, who had in the past met with the fourthKing of Bhutan,Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and fifth King,Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.[5]
In March 2025, theTrump Administration was reportedly considering a total ban onvisas for Bhutanese citizens.[6][7][8]
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