NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Bhutan next week. The PM gave this information in a post on X after a meeting with visiting Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay, who was re-elected to the post after five years in opposition.
“Glad to meet my friend and PM of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay on his first overseas visit during this term. Had productive discussions encompassing various aspects of our unique and special partnership. I convey heartfelt thanks to His Majesty the King of Bhutan and the Bhutan PM for inviting me to visit Bhutan next week,” posted the PM on X.
Bhutan is expecting that India will take interest in a major economic development and industrialisation plan drawn up by Thimphu. Tobgay arrived here on Thursday on a five-day official visit to India and his first substantial engagement was the meeting with PM Modi. He was received at the airport by Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs Ashwini Choubey.
On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet had approved two Bhutan-related pacts. One was an MoU on extending cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and the other between the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for cooperation in the area of food safety. Thimphu has planned a 1,000-sq-km industrial zone on the border with India and is hoping for substantial investments from New Delhi. The Gelephu Special Administrative Region Project is touted as an economic bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, involving Assam and West Bengal in India and extending to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore.