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Nepal and Bhutan has agreed on a six-point agenda to boost air connectivity and tourism between the two land-locked countries, reports the Kathmandu Post newspaper.
Nepal’s Tourism Ministry and the Ministry of Information and Communications of Bhutan has signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise the agendas in the near future.
As per the initial consultation agreement, the two countries have decided to give permanent status to the air service agreement (ASA) signed and revised in different periods. Nepal and Bhutan signed the ASA in February 2004, which had allowed seven weekly flights. It was revised on May 17, 2014, permitting flight frequency to 21 per week.
Likewise, Nepal has agreed Bhutan’s proposal to grant two more traffic frequency on Paro-Kathmandu-Delhi and Delhi-Kathmandu-Paro from existing four per week under the fifth freedom rights.
Although Bhutan had asked two other routes – Bagdogra and Bodhgaya of India – to Kathmandu under the fifth freedom traffic rights, tourism ministry officials said the request has been “duly noted”.
Under Nepal’s request, Bhutan has agreed to offer “beyond rights” facilities for Nepali carriers, or “stopover” traffic where passengers may embark or disembark at an intermediate stop as part of an itinerary between the endpoints of a connecting flights.
The beyond points rights as asked by Nepali sides are Kathmandu-Paro-Bangkok; Kathmandu-Paro-Naypyidaw, the capital city of Myanmar; Kathmandu-Paro-Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam; and Kathmandu-Paro- Phnom Penh; the capital city of Cambodia.
Two countries also agreed to sign a separate MoU between tourism authorities to boost tourism by simplifying immigration procedures.
To increase the air connectivity to and between Saarc countries, Nepal and Bhutan have agreed to raise the issues of simplifying air routes and connectivity at different Saarc forums.
Currently, Bhutan’s first private airline Tashi Air (aka Bhutan Airlines) and Druk Air have been connecting Nepal. Nepali private carrier Buddha Air, which had launched commercial flights to Paro on August 23, 2010, has been making charter flights to Bhutan.
See more at http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-01-09/nepal-bhutan-agree-on-six-point-agenda.html