More information about Bhutan is available on the Bhutan Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.
U.S.-BHUTAN RELATIONS
Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971. Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with any of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United States. Although Bhutan and the United States have never established formal diplomatic relations, the two countries maintain warm, informal relations via their diplomatic missions at the United Nations in New York, Washington DC, and New Delhi, India.
Bilateral Cooperation
The United States and Bhutan cooperate on a number of initiatives. The U.S. Government annually brings several Bhutanese participants to the United States through its International Visitors, Humphrey Fellows, and Fulbright Programs. Bhutan participates in the South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration (SARI/EI), a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that helps enhance energy security in the region through cross-border power trade, clean energy development, including hydropower, and improved power market practices. The U.S. Government further deepened its energy partnership with the Royal Government of Bhutan through USAID’s South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP), which will support regional power trade. Bhutan also receives USAID-supported training on a range of disaster management topics as well as funding from USAID’s Global Health Bureau for COVAX vaccines and support for iodine nutrition projects. The United States Government provides support to Bhutan to fight COVID-19 and its economic impacts including creating livelihoods and enhancing food security for farmers in the agricultural sector. Since July 2021 the United States has donated over 600,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the people of Bhutan in partnership with COVAX. Bhutan receives State Department-supported assistance to implement programs to counter trafficking in persons and to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Bhutan partnered on the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) project to train Bhutanese teachers on data collection and field-based Earth science.
Bhutan’s Membership in International Organizations
Bhutan and the United States cooperate at a number of international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.
Bilateral Representation
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has consular responsibilities for Bhutan and maintains frequent and friendly communications with the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in New Delhi. A consular officer periodically visits Bhutan to renew passports, provide notarial services, and take applications for Consular Reports of Birth Abroad.
Principal embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List.
Bhutan maintains a consulate general in the United States at 343 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017 (tel: 202-682-2268).
More information about Bhutan is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:
CIA World Factbook Bhutan Page
Country Studies
Travel Information