India: The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, recently met with Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on Tuesday. The meeting has garnered the mutual interest of both nations, specifically in regard to the shared areas of growth and development through the Five-Year roadmap plan.
As per the Bhutan Live reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Bhutanese King Jigme that were hailed as “warm and productive”, where they pointed out the five-point roadmap for enhancing time-tested ties between India and Bhutan.
In addition, the problem of Doklam was not explicitly mentioned during the meeting, but it was an obvious concern and a crucial area of the strategic interests of India.
The top leaders of the two nations discussed the five-point plan, which includes joint association in a variety of areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, sustainable trade facilitation measures, along with cooperation in startups and energy.
The five-point roadmap between both nations also includes the first-ever railways’ link between Assam and Bhutan and between Kokrajhar and Gelephu.
The Indian government has also shown interest in granting an additional standby credit facility at the request of Bhutan, along with extending support for the next 13th Five-Year Plan.
India and Bhutan have been sharing a longstanding relationship based on goodwill, trust and deep understanding. The sense of respect on both ends, along with deep belief, is the foundation stone of the connection between both nations. The leaders of both countries have been standing with one another to extend their support in difficult times.
The nature of India’s and Bhutan’s security concerns is connected with one another, which is indivisible. Furthermore, both nations share a long history of standard security talks and matters of interest. The agreed roadmap is another crucial step taken in the direction of expanding the long-established relationship between India and Bhutan, said the reports.
The agreed rail link project between Kokrajhar and Gelephu will also strengthen the commercial and trade ties between India and Bhutan, along with improved connectivity. Bhutan is also expected to benefit on the socio-economic level from the support gained by India in the upcoming five-year plan and additional standby credits availability.
The industries of both countries have been exploring new areas of joint association from which both can get economic benefits. Some of the potential areas of collaboration among both nations include space and startups, trade, connectivity etc. The leaders emphasised that significant depth and breadth can be achieved from mutual cooperation.
