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Guwahati: Bhutan — which is known for its ethereal beauty, happiness index, culture and heritage — is one of the favourite destinations for many northeasters. The neighbouring country is also significant from an economic point of view.
In a tête-à-tête with Business Northeast, the Consul General (CG) in Royal Bhutanese Consulate General, Jigme Thinlye Namgyal, said Bhutan was thankful to the Indian government for various reasons. He shared the country’s plans for improving the Indo-Bhutan relation through initiatives of traders and investors of both countries. Excerpts:
BNE: What is the role of the Royal Bhutanese Consulate General in developing the Indo-Bhutan relation?
CG: Our Royal Bhutan Consulate General Office was established in 2018 to mark the 50-year relationship between Bhutan and India. Our core mandate here can be broadly categorised into four components. First, the government of India and the Government of Bhutan share an exemplary relationship. We have a very good understanding, but the focus of our office is to promote a people-to-people working relationship. Second, it is the promotion of trade. For this, one must do facilitation work. We do facilitation for both import and export. Third, we are here to promote the exchange of culture, education programmes and tourism. Fourth, certainly we are here to provide consular services to the Bhutanese. We work with Indians also. In case something happens to them in Bhutan, we offer certain services to them.
BNE: The bilateral trade between India and Bhutan has increased manifold in recent years. In this context, what is the volume of trade taking place with North East India?
CG: The volume of trade between these two countries has been increasing over the last few years… Of course, we are importing then what we export.
BNE: India has put a lot of emphasis on increasing business activities with its immediate neighbours under the Act East Policy under which it wants to make northeastern states a trading hub. What kind of opportunities does Bhutan see in trade with the NE states?
CG: Northeast being our immediate neighbour, we share lots of affinities. We are very grateful to the Government of India. As you have said that it is focusing on the northeast part of India, it is because of this we are also benefited. We have been given access to rivers and ports of Pandu, Jogihopa, Dhubri and some land customs stations. This will definitely improve our trade relations with neighbouring countries. As far as the market is concerned, we have not done enough. I think there are a lot of opportunities. Both from northeast states of India and Bhutanese traders will have to work together to improve our trade relations. Both export and import needs improved.
BNE: Is the connectivity issue a hindrance to the growth of business activity between Bhutan and the North Eastern Region?
CG: On the connectivity front we are very excited because the Government of India and the Government of Bhutan recently announced that they will be working on completing the Kokrajhar Gelephu link very soon. So, the work is being initiated and the detailed project report will be available very soon. The technical team from Railways and our Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport will come together. We will discuss it. So, we are very excited. I know that Railways will open lots of avenues to improve our trading between Bhutan and India in terms of both export and import. We are also looking for the completion of the Jogihopa multimodal park. It will open lots of opportunities for our traders both for Bhutan and India. As far as other things are concerned regarding connectivity issues access has been given to us (and) we don’t have a lot of issues on that front.
BNE: What kind of products are exported from Bhutan to India?
CG: As we all know that we buy more than what we export. Yet, talking in terms of our exports we talk in terms of our minerals; of course, electricity is the biggest export, then we have mineral products, we have a few agricultural and horticultural products. Besides that, some semi-finished products are also being sold. Ferrosilicon is one of the growing industries. We are exporting lots of ferrosilicon to India.
BNE: What are the products and service from this region that is in demand in Bhutan?
CG: We buy almost everything so almost everything is in demand. But if you talk in terms of industries, it is the construction material that we import a lot. Tourism is also an area where we can both work together and benefit from this. Thirdly, we are really looking forward to the import of coal also as an industrial raw material. Not only coal, we import even silica and bamboo pieces for our silicon industry.
BNE: Which are the business sectors in NE India which has the potential to do business in Bhutan and vice versa?
CG: In fact, Bhutan and North East share an almost similar culture, weather, terrain etc. I see there is a lot of scope that we can work together especially in the area of horticulture, in the area of agriculture. One interesting (point) is that in the plains of Assam when there are shortages of agricultural products in Bhutan like vegetables and all during the winter months, Assam produces in abundance. When there is a shortage in Assam, Bhutan produces in abundance. Thus, there is a lot of scope where we can work together to enhance both export and import.
BNE: What are the plans for this relationship and business development?
CG: I think we can work together, like even we talk about trading also we welcome Indian traders to invest in Bhutan also of course in any sector that they want. Any sector that they undergo will have to go through the screening process. There are a few business people who have expressed their interest to invest in Northeast India as well. These are some investment opportunities for both Bhutanese and Indians.
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