Northeast as Bhutan’s gateway to global markets

India’s reaffirmation of its commitment to establish an Immigration Check Post (ICP) at Hatisar in Assam will facilitate the easy movement of investors and visitors to Gelephu in Bhutan, thereby firmly positioning the state as a strategic facilitator in deepening India-Bhutan engagement. The operationalisation of Samrang Land Custom Station (LCS) in the Udalguri district earlier last month further reinforced Assam’s anchoring role in strengthening the cross-border trade, commerce and people-to-people engagement between the two neighbouring countries. India’s decision to establish the ICP at Hatisar, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to Bhutan in November 2025, was reaffirmed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar when he had paid an official visit to Bhutan last week. The proposed ICP will link the economic activities related to cross-border trade and commerce to the upcoming Gelephu Mindfulness City, the Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link and India’s first multimodal logistics park at Jogighopa to strengthen seamless access for Bhutan to a wider global market through an integrated network of road, rail and waterway in Assam. The flurry of diplomatic activities has also elevated the role of the Bodoland Territorial Region from a transit region to a main access economic corridor for Bhutan. As the entire BTR shares the Assam-Bhutan border, the areas under the autonomous territorial council have the strategic advantage of leveraging the heightened diplomatic engagement, leading to the accelerated operationalisation of infrastructure projects on both sides of the border. The extent to which the Bodoland Territorial Council can utilise opportunities to align its development agenda with international trade and the movement of goods and people related to investment corridors in the two countries will depend on the BTC authorities’ ability to recognise the potential economic opportunities that are waiting to be unlocked. This situation calls for BTC authorities to aggressively push skill building, entrepreneur development, tourism development, and agricultural production and prioritise connectivity so that the high-value economic corridor brings prosperity to BTR, creates new employment and livelihood avenues, and other areas of the state. The visit included two important Indian delegations: the Indian Medical Value Travel delegation, which comprises leading healthcare institutions and operates under the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and a business delegation representing 19 Indian service enterprises, coordinated by the Services Export Promotion Council. This visit to Bhutan in August and earlier this month reflected the enthusiasm among various stakeholders in India due to the surge in bilateral engagement. These two delegations provide a cue to stakeholders in Assam about the potential in the healthcare and services sector in deepening ties between the two countries. Significant expansion of the healthcare sector, with Guwahati witnessing a rise in super-speciality care hospitals in both the government and private sectors, can be aggressively marketed to attract Bhutanese people to access these healthcare facilities. As these healthcare facilities are located close to Bhutan, they can provide quality healthcare at much less cost compared to other Indian cities. Besides, the state also has the advantage of combining its tourism products with healthcare services to promote medical tourism opportunities among Bhutanese people. Maintenance of roads connecting the ICPs, LCS and other border routes connecting these destinations in Assam to ensure uninterrupted and seamless, safe travel will be critical for sustainability of such medial tourism initiatives. Assam’s ability to draw maximum benefit from India-Bhutan bilateral engagement depends on the youth of the state recognising that border connectivity infrastructure and diplomatic engagement are not merely for cross-border transit. These initiatives create new opportunities, transforming a previously landlocked frontier into a connected region and unlocking endless possibilities in trade, commerce, and tourism. Increased infrastructural work also creates livelihood avenues for local youth. As people in BTR have an age-old relationship with the Bhutanese, increased people-to-people engagement through tourism activities and cultural exchanges can boost confidence among investors and youth on both sides of the border to deepen cooperation in different sectors. A stronger bond among the people of both countries can be of paramount importance in strengthening community understanding and playing a role in the climate action goals set by both nations. Given the ecological continuity and fragile habitats shared by the border geography, as well as the shared river basins and wildlife corridors, enhancing people-to-people engagement and fostering academic and educational exchanges between higher educational institutions in Assam and Bhutan, along with research collaboration, will significantly complement bilateral trade and commerce. Strengthening bilateral ties between India and Bhutan is strategically important for the entire northeast region, not just Assam, as other states in the region also contribute to enhanced India-Bhutan engagement. Leveraging their connectivity corridors remains crucial for making the bilateral relationship robust and sustained. The states in the region organising brainstorming sessions by roping in investors, academics, researchers and youth, entrepreneurs and tourism stakeholders to shortlist priorities will help create a more coordinated and opportunity-driven roadmap for positioning Northeast as Bhutan’s principal gateway to global markets.