Bhutan has begun its first trial transit of goods through Bangladesh, aligning with Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s 22–24 November visit to Dhaka.
A 15-tonne shipment imported from Thailand has already arrived at Chattogram Port and will travel 684 km across Bangladesh, moving through Burimari land port before entering Bhutan via India.

Bangladesh has issued all necessary clearances to port and customs authorities for the trial transit. A second trial run will be required before Bhutan can fully operationalize commercial transit through Bangladesh under the Traffic-in-Transit Agreement signed in March 2023.

Officials confirmed that no trade or investment talks are planned during this visit; the next commerce secretary–level meeting is set for January. Bangladesh agreed to conduct this initial trial as a friendly gesture, even though fees and charges are yet to be finalised by the joint technical committee.

For the trial, Bangladesh has temporarily set charges including a Tk30 document fee, Tk20 per tonne transshipment fee, Tk100 per tonne security charge, Tk85 per km escort fee, Tk100 per tonne administrative fee, and Tk254 scanning fee per container. Road tolls and corridor user fees will be determined separately.