Bhutan, a country with no relations with the US

There are currently only three countries in the world that do not have diplomatic relations with the United States, including one country that has absolutely no conflict with Washington, which is Bhutan.

Bhutan is one of the most closed countries in the world - Photo: Reuters

On July 1, the United States and Cuba announced an agreement to reopen embassies, officially restoring diplomatic relations for the first time since 1961.

This event left only three countries in the world without diplomatic relations with the United States, according to The New York Times (USA).

Two of these countries are easy to guess: Iran and North Korea. The United States and Iran severed diplomatic relations in 1980 after Iranian students surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage in November 1979. The United States and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations.

The third and final country is one where the US does not have any diplomatic relations while the two sides have had no conflicts throughout history: the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Bhutan is a landlocked country located in the Himalayas between India and China. According to The Atlantic, since joining the United Nations in 1971, Bhutan has always maintained a stance of limiting diplomatic relations with other countries. In the world, only India and Bangladesh have embassies in Bhutan's capital Thimphu.

Despite its active withdrawal from global affairs, Bhutan remains embroiled in its own border disputes. The Atlantic reports that China claims about 10% of Bhutan’s territory.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting on January 11, 2015 in Ahmedabad (India) - Photo: Reuters

Recently, Bhutan has continued to maintain its "say no" stance with other countries, refusing to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) project initiated by China. The Atlantic quoted some analysts as saying that this is the time for the US to take advantage of the opportunity to jump in and establish relations with this kingdom.

However, it seems that Bhutan does not want to interact with the Americans, despite the fact that in January 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry had a "historic" meeting with Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, as described by India Times (India). The meeting took place in the Indian city of Ahmadabad, which was the first time US and Bhutanese officials met, but this meeting only discussed economics and investment, not diplomatic relations, The Atlantic reported.

(According to TNO)