Services focus of Bhutan talks
Thailand and Bhutan will hold their second round of joint trade talks in Bangkok this week, expecting to double annual trade value and foster cooperation in the service sector within the next few years.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the meeting is expected to lead to further cooperation not only on trade and investment issues, but also in the service sector and in particular the tourism aspect.
She said the two countries have their own strong points that could be exchanged and also improved upon to add value, with Thailand offering strong expertise on tourism promotion and Bhutan possessing several interesting tourist attractions of its own.
“The cooperation will help double trade value between the two countries to exceed US$50 million (1.66 billion baht), since there is strong demand for Thai goods in Bhutan,” Ms Apiradi said. “Although trade value between Thailand and Bhutan remains small at around $24.4 million in 2016, growth is more than 100% every year. That’s why we expect the trade value to double again next year.”
The kingdom of Bhutan is a small, mountainous, landlocked country in South Asia, bordered by India and China. The country is home to a population of 770,000 spread across 38,394 square kilometres, with 71% of the land under forest cover.
According to the World Bank, the Bhutanese government focuses on hydropower, agriculture, tourism, cottage industries and mining to drive growth and create jobs.
A combination of prudent fiscal and monetary policy, as well as robust investments in hydropower, have contributed to the acceleration of GDP growth from 2.1% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2015, while inflation was 3.2% in 2016.
Ms Apiradi said Bhutan is a country with strong potential for Thai investors to expand their business, particularly in construction services, hotels and tourismrelated endeavours.
Bhutan also imports a good deal of Thai goods such as fresh food, canned food,
plastic products, electronic circuits, textiles and garments.
For its part, Thailand imports chemicals, printing products, wood and some medicines from Bhutan.
A key stumbling block has been high logistics costs stemming from the high mountainous geography of Bhutan.
Ms Apiradi said the Bhutan government wants Thailand to lend a helping hand in upgrading and promoting the arts and handicrafts of Bhutan to penetrate a broader market with higher value.
In addition, Thailand can lend support by promoting tourism in Bhutan, she said.