Bangkok (VNA) 🥃- Thailand and Bhutan officially signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on April 4, aimed at enhancing trade relations between the two countries.

Thai Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the agreement would bring mutual benefits to both Thai and Bhutanese businesses and consumers through tariff exemptions. The agreement is Bhutan's first FTA with a country outside South Asia, allowing it to expand its commercial relations beyond the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta), which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives. This marks the total number of trade agreements between Thailand and various countries and regions to 17. In 2024, bilateral trade reached over 460 million THB (13.3 million USD), with Thailand exporting goods worth 457 million THB to Bhutan and importing goods worth 3.47 million THB from this market.. Thailand's major exports include automobiles and auto parts, wheat products, prepared foods, microwave ovens, beverages, and canned and processed fruit. Meanwhule, Bhutan's major exports are vegetables, fruit, aircraft and aircraft parts, auto parts, timber, wood and wood products, and beverages such as mineral water, soft drinks, and liquor./.