People may criticise us, but environment is top priority for Bhutan, says Lotay Tshering
Last week, Bhutan’s government took two important decisions which could impact its regional ties, especially with India. The first was to end free entry for regional tourists from India, Bangladesh and Maldives, by levying a daily Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) on them for the first time. Indians make up about 1.8 Lakh of all 2.74 Lakh tourists who visit Bhutan each year. The other decision was to confirm that Bhutan will stay out of the proposed Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (BBIN-MVA) that would allow for transit traffic between all four countries. Bhutan joined the meeting of the BBIN, but only as an observer.
Source: The Hindu
