First and Second Readings of Bills and Agreement
After the Question Hour, one Bill, one Convention and 2 Agreements were introduced in the House today, namely:
The Cooperatives and Farmers Groups Bill, 2025;
The Free Trade Agreement between Bhutan and Thailand;
The BIMSTEC Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation; and
The BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance.
1. The Cooperatives and Farmers Groups Bill, 2025
The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, as the Member-In-Charge, introduced the Cooperatives and Farmers Groups Bill of Bhutan 2025 in the National Assembly. The Bill aims to strengthen collective farming, improve access to finance and markets, and enhance service delivery to rural communities. It provides a comprehensive legal framework for the formation, registration, and regulation of cooperatives and farmers groups.
The Bill is also expected to address key challenges under the existing law, such as lack of clear compliance standards, limited accountability, and high auditing costs. It proposes decentralization of registration, streamlined dissolution procedures, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure sustainability and transparency. The House concurred with the deliberation of the Bill and assigned it to the Social and Culture Committee to review the Bill and present its report in the winter session of the Parliament.
2. The Free Trade Agreement between Bhutan and Thailand
The Minister for Industry, Commerce and Employment, as the Member In-charge, introduced the Bhutan-Thailand Free Trade Agreement in the National Assembly. The Agreement aims to liberalise trade in goods, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, expand market access, and enhance economic and technical cooperation between the two countries. It seeks to improve competitiveness, ensure transparency in regulations, and boost Bhutan’s export potential while attracting Thai investments.
The Agreement establishes a free trade area under WTO principles while excluding the Gelephu Mindfulness City from its scope. It also reaffirms existing international obligations and includes a provision for consultation in case of conflicts with other agreements. The House concurred with the deliberation of the Agreement and assigned it to the Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee for its review. The Third Reading of the Agreement will be held on 18 June 2025.
3. The BIMSTEC Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation
The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, as the Member In-charge, introduced the BIMSTEC Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation today. The Agreement aimed at enhancing regional connectivity, promoting maritime cooperation, and facilitating efficient transport of goods and passengers among member states. Originating from the 2016 BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat, the Agreement was finalized through several rounds of negotiations and endorsed by all member states. The House concurred with the deliberation of the Agreement and assigned it to the Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee to review and present its review report for Third Reading scheduled on 6 June 2025.
4. The BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance
The Minister for Home Affairs, as Member In-charge, introduced the Convention to the House today. The Convention aims to strengthen legal cooperation among BIMSTEC member states in criminal matters. It provides a comprehensive framework for mutual assistance in investigations, prosecutions, and judicial proceedings—covering the exchange of information, evidence, and witnesses, as well as search, seizure, and asset recovery. The Convention applies to all requests made after its entry into force and excludes extradition, enforcement of criminal judgments, and military offences. The House after the first and second reading of the Convention referred it to the Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee for its review and directed to present its review report on 5 June 2025.
