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Bangladesh has expressed support for and interest in Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) initiative, welcoming its potential to contribute to sustainable development, regional connectivity and shared prosperity.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City is a massive, multi-generational special administrative region project in southern Bhutan. Announced by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in December 2023, the 1,000-square-kilometre, carbon-negative development on the Indian border aims to combine modern economic growth with the principles of Gross National Happiness.
Bangladesh expressed its interest in the initiative during a meeting with Bhutan on Tuesday. The two countries also agreed to deepen bilateral trade and private-sector cooperation, expand product coverage under their Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and explore the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The issues were discussed at the Fourth Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Bhutan held in Dhaka, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam and his Bhutanese counterpart Pema Lektup Dorji co-chaired the consultations.
The meeting was held in a warm, cordial and constructive atmosphere, with the two sides reviewing the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchanging views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Both sides reaffirmed the longstanding bonds of friendship, trust and mutual respect between the two countries and expressed satisfaction with the steady progress in bilateral cooperation.
They reviewed cooperation in political affairs, trade and investment, connectivity, education, health, culture, tourism, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges.
The two sides agreed to further strengthen high-level political engagement and regular consultations between the two governments, while stressing the need to translate existing goodwill and political understanding into tangible benefits for the peoples of both countries.
They also reiterated their commitment to expanding cooperation in culture, tourism, agriculture, human resource development, academic collaboration, institutional linkages, youth exchanges and sports.
Dhaka also expressed interest in exploring opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation under the Gelephu Mindfulness City initiative.
Bangladesh reiterated its commitment to expediting the operationalisation of the Bhutanese Special Economic Zone in Kurigram.
The two sides also exchanged views on strengthening regional cooperation under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to promote greater regional integration.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the fourth FOC and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening the close and mutually beneficial partnership between Bangladesh and Bhutan.
The next round of Foreign Office Consultations will be held in Thimphu at a mutually convenient date.