Prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley returned yesterday from his four-day visit to India, which he said, “strengthened bilateral cooperation and time-tested friendship between the two countries.”
Lyonchhoen was the first head of state to visit and congratulate the UPA led government, which was re-elected earlier this May. The two governments discussed an array of bilateral issues, including expanding trade ties, cooperation in hydropower sector and strengthening IT projects in Bhutan.
The Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, during his meeting with Lyonchhoen on July 1, expressed his sympathies for the recent flood victims in Bhutan and offered an assistance of Nu 100m to support the victims.
Dr Manmohan Singh also praised the Bhutanese government’s efforts in developing a knowledge based economy through IT and e-governance projects. His government assured Lyonchhoen to support the ‘Total Solutions Project’ (TSP), worth Nu 2.05b, which was recently finalised by the Bhutanese government.
The project is expected to benefit, among others, the education sector by training over 4,000 teachers, develop IT curriculum and establish computer laboratories in schools across the country, according to officials.
“The two governments having finalised details of the strategy to produce 10,000 MW of power by 2020, PM Dr Manmohan Singh expressed India’s commitment to finish the projects on time,” said the secretary of the economic affairs ministry, Dasho Sonam Tshering, one of the delegation members to accompany Lyonchhoen.
During the visit, it was decided that the empowered joint group, the body that will see that projects go as per agreed schedule, would meet in Thimphu next month. The group first met in New Delhi in March this year.
The prime ministers also discussed the upcoming 16th SAARC summit to be held in Bhutan in April 2010. The Indian government offered their assistance and full support to Bhutan to host the summit.
Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley, while in Delhi, also met President Pratibha Patil, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, the finance minister, external affairs minister, foreign secretary and leader of the opposition. He also met the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in Kolkata to discuss measures to strengthen cooperation between Bhutan and West Bengal.
The meeting with the Indian chamber of commerce in Kolkata saw economic and trade ties between the two nations assume new dimensions, according to the Bhutanese delegation members. “There are a lot of people in India interested in investing in Bhutan and the meeting was for them to see the different opportunities,” said Dasho Sonam Tshering. “We informed them that we’re revising our FDI policy and there are a lot of opportunities in service sectors like hospitality, health and education, information and communication technology, agriculture and infrastructure.”
Source: Kuenselonline
