President Pranab Mukherjee has left for a two day state visit to Bhutan to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. During the visit the President will have meetings and interactions with Bhutan's king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. In an interview to Bhutan Broadcasting Service on the eve of his visit to the Himalayan state, Mr Mukherjee described ties between India and Bhutan as a model relationship. He yesterday said that mutual trust and confidence have helped build close relations between the two neighbours. Mr Mukherjee said India will continue to assist it in its economic development as Bhutan was special to India.
He said India has given 300 crore rupees to Bhutan last year and another 900 crore rupees has already been disbursed this year for development purposes and more aid will also be disbursed in the course of time. Briefing media on the President's visit, Foreign Secretary Ms. Sujata Singh said in New Delhi last evening that this will be the first visit of an Indian President to Bhutan after a gap of 26 years. The President is being accompanied by a high level delegation including Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, four Members of Parliament, senior officials and representative from educational institutions. The Foreign Secretary said that 2014 is the year of all round consolidation of India's relations with Bhutan.
Our correspondent reports that MoU on establishment of Nalanda University and agreements in the field of education sector are likely to be signed during the visit. During the visit, discussions on bilateral relations and economic cooperation as well as cooperation in regional and multilateral forums will take place. Bhutan has an important place for India and this was also evident by the much acclaimed visit of Prime minister Narendra Modi, in June after his oath. Bhutan is also poised to benefit from the Indian government’s initiative, Make in India, which aims to make India a global manufacturing hub. The Bhutanese sentiments reflect that this initiative of India is bound to be of advantage to Bhutan’s economy as 85 per cent of its trade is with India and that the abundant natural resources of Bhutan which include the Hydro Power and the mineral resources can find market as raw material for some of the products that India makes.
India is also assisting in the construction of 600 Megawatt Kholongchu Hydropower Project which is a Joint Venture project between the Indian and Bhutanese PSUs, SJVNL and Druk Green Power Corporation. The construction of the Project which is located in Trashiyangtse in Eastern Bhutan will commence later this year. The Foundation Stone of the project was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June this year. The construction of the Project which is located in Trashiyangtse in Eastern Bhutan will commence later this year.
