Israel established diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Bhutan on Saturday, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called “another fruit of the peace agreements”.
The agreement, which stands separate to the landmark Abraham Accords and recent peace deals with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, had reportedly been in the works for a year.
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of his hopes for additional future peace deals: “We are in contact with additional countries that want to join and establish relations with us”.
Bhutan, an isolated mountainous Buddhist kingdom, borders both India and China. The country only has formal diplomatic relations with 53 other countries – and does not have agreements with the United Kingdom, USA or France. It has population of just 800,000 and is one of the least visited areas of the world, but offers hydroelectric exports to India.
Ambassador to India Ron Malka and his Bhutanese counterpart Vetsop Namgyel signed the final agreement normalising ties in a small ceremony in New Delhi.
Bhutan’s Prime Minister had reportedly sought warmer relations, after decades of Israel sharing its technology and know-how in water management, agriculture, medicine and education.
Hundreds of Bhutanese citizens have participated in agricultural training programmes through MASHAV, Israel’s international development agency.
Bhutan’s government “thinks of Israel as a leading country in technology and innovation that can help them progress and use more advanced technology and train their youth”.
Ambassador Malka said to the Jerusalem Post that Bhutan’s government “thinks of Israel as a leading country in technology and innovation that can help them progress and use more advanced technology and train their youth”.
Israel’s Foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Foreign Minister of Bhutan Tandy Dorji spoke on the phone last weekend.
“I want to thank the Kingdom of Bhutan and praise the decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel”, Ashkenazi said. “I invite my friend Foreign Minister Dorji to visit Israel to promote cooperation between the countries. I hope that in the next year we will host the King of Bhutan for his first official visit [to Israel]”.
He added: “The establishment of relations with the Kingdom of Bhutan will constitute a new stage in the deepening of Israel’s relations in Asia”.
The countries’ foreign ministries reportedly held secret talks over the past year towards the goal of forging official ties, which included delegations between the two capitals Jerusalem and Thimphu.
