Bhutan is pivotal to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ and the ‘Act East’ Policy
India is Bhutan’s top trade partner both as an import source and as an export destination with bilateral of US$1,615 million in 2022-23, accounting for about 80% of landlocked country’s overall trade https://www.wto.org/ , the Finance Ministry said on 7 May 2024.
Enhancing connectivity with Bhutan is pivotal to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ and the ‘Act East’ Policy, said the ministry after hosting the 5th Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting between the two countries held on 6-7 May 2024 in Leh, Ladakh https://usispf.org/ .
The meeting was co-chaired by Surjit Bhujabal, Special Secretary and Member (Customs), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, and Sonam Jamtsho, Director General, Department of Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Finance, Bhutan.
The 5th JGC meeting discussed a host of bilateral issues such as opening of new Land Customs Stations https://fieo.org/ and notifying new trade routes, development of infrastructure, automation and digitisation of transit processes, prevention of smuggling, coordinated cross-border management, pre-arrival exchange of Customs data, bilateral agreement on Customs cooperation and movement of transit cargo under electronic cargo system among others.
There are 10 Land Customs Stations along the India-Bhuan Border in the States of West Bengal (6) and Assam (4).
The meeting concluded on an optimistic note https://www.worldbank.org/en/home . Both the countries agreed on discovering new strands of complementarities between India and Bhutan that can be maximised for mutual benefit, respond to the expectations and aspirations of the youth and adapt to the rapid changes related to new technologies and social innovations.
Both sides also agreed to consider new developments for facilitating customs and trade cooperation for mutual prosperity, said the ministry. Fiinews.com
