On the first day of his two-day visit to Bhutan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a wide range of discussion with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering and announced a slew of measures to boost the bilateral ties between the two countries on Saturday.
“We had a comprehensive meeting, where we deliberated on the relations between India and Bhutan. There is great scope to further improve economic and cultural ties between our nations,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Whereas, PM Tshering said India and Bhutan may vary in size but their beliefs, values and motivation are common. “On his (Modi) first visit to Bhutan, I remember him saying that Bhutan and India are close not because we have open borders, but because we have opened our hearts to each other. Your visit this time shows how much you meant it,” he said.
#Bhutan PM (Dr.) #LotayTshering: On his (#PMModi) first visit to Bhutan in 2014, I remember him saying that Bhutan & India are close not because we have open borders, but because we have opened our hearts to each other. Your visit this time shows how much you meant it @PMBhutan pic.twitter.com/Vk1AtOZ4Mh
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) August 17, 2019
The two countries signed 10 MoUs in the field of space research, aviation, IT, power and education.
Energy
Modi inaugurated Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant and also launched stamps to commemorate five decades of India-Bhutan Hydropower cooperation on the first day.
Space research
Both the leaders inaugurated the Ground Earth Station and SATCOM network, developed with assistance from ISRO for utilization of South Asia Satellite in Bhutan.
RuPay card
PM Modi also launched RuPay Card in Bhutan by making a purchase at Simtokha Dzong.
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Education
The duo jointly inaugurated the extension of India’s National Knowledge Network to Bhutan.
Apart from this, PM Modi also announced that India was going to increase the supply of LPG from 700 Metric Tonnes (MT) to 1000 Metric Tonnes (MT) per month in order to meet the requirement of the ordinary citizens of the country.
On his second day, Modi will also address young Bhutanese students at the prestigious Royal University of Bhutan on Sunday.