New Delhi: Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar's visit to the northeastern state of Assam and the interest to invest in this part of the country has certainly augmented the India-Bhutan ties. According to the joint statement by the Ministry of External Affairs on the visit of the king to India, rail connectivity, cross-border trade infrastructure, economic cooperation, tourism, education, skill development, environmental conservation and nurturing people-to-people connections were some of the key areas of discussion during his visit to Assam.
The Bhutanese King flew to Delhi from Guwahati, which was the first-ever official visit by a Bhutanese monarch to Assam. One of the key outcomes of his visit to Assam was to undertake the Final Location Survey (FLS), in consultation with the Bhutanese side, of the proposed cross-border rail link connecting Kokrajhar in Assam to Gelephu in Bhutan through the Government of India (GoI) support.
The India-Bhutan rail link is the 57 km line connecting Kokrajhar and Gelephu where Bhutan plans to build an international airport. The two sides noted the successful completion of the Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic (PET) survey of the rail link by Indian Railways. The two sides also agreed to consider establishing a rail link between Banarhat (West Bengal) and Samtse (Bhutan).
To further expand bilateral cooperation on trade, technology, cross-border connectivity, mutual investments, education and people-to-people connections, both sides agree to designate Darranga (Assam)/Samdrup Jongkhar (Bhutan) as the immigration check post between Bhutan and India to facilitate the entry and exit of third-country nationals by land route for enhancing connectivity and promoting tourism.
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India to positively consider Bhutan’s request for concessional financing in the area of skill development and capacity building under the GyalSung Project said MEA. However, both sides also agreed to designate the Haldibari (West Bengal) - Chilahati (Bangladesh) rail route as an additional trade route for Bhutan’s trade with Bangladesh.
To strengthen trade infrastructure, including by suitable upgradation of the existing Land Customs station at Dadgiri (Assam) to Integrated Check Post through GOI support, along with the development of facilities on the Bhutanese side at Gelephu (Bhutan). India and Bhutan agreed to allocate additional MBBS seats for Bhutanese students in medical colleges in Assam as an endeavour to ensure access to quality medical education and training for Bhutanese nationals.
This is King Jigme Khesar’s second trip to India this year, after his visit in April, which also closely followed the announcement of progress in Bhutan-China talks on resolving their boundary. After New Delhi, he will be travelling to Maharashtra. This was a first official visit to Assam and will be his first official visit to Maharashtra.
During the visit, the King of Bhutan and the Prime Minister of India held discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues of mutual interest. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the king of Bhutan. He further commended the excellent organisation of the recently concluded G20 Summit hosted by India, and forging consensus for constructive decisions and outcomes contained in the Delhi Declaration.
He particularly appreciated India’s efforts in effectively integrating the interests and priorities of the countries in the Global South in the G20 deliberations and outcome documents. India and Bhutan enjoy long-standing and exceptional bilateral ties characterised by utmost trust, goodwill and mutual understanding at all levels. The visit provided an opportunity for the two sides to discuss various aspects of the multi-faceted bilateral ties and forge understanding to further cooperate across diverse sectors, the MEA stated.
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