Bhutan and India ink trade agreement

New Delhi, Aug 02: Bhutan and India signed a new ten-year agreement that gives the Himalayan kingdom four more entry and exit points. The pact also simplifies procedures for import and export between the two countries.
 
Bhutan's Minister for Trade, Industry and Power Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba and Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath inked the new agreement, which replaces a previous Agreement on Trade and Commerce signed in 1995 that expired in March this year.

The four more entry and exit points will help Bhutanese good have access to the port cities of Mumbai in the west and Chennai in the south. There already existed 12 entry points. The other two are land routes, namely Phulbari and Dawki.

According to press statement, the new pact also allows movement of goods from one part of Bhutan to another through Indian territory by giving a transit declaration in a prescribed form.
 
The two countries also signed two hydro-electric power deals, with target of Bhutan's power export to 5,000 MW by 2020.

This will boost the economic growth of Bhutan alongside helping India to meet increasing demands of power in recent years. Bhutan News Service