Arya News - The three projects span hydropower, maternal and child healthcare, and road connectivity, highlighting the wide-ranging development partnership between India and Bhutan.History
NEW DELHI – India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Bhutan’s Foreign Affairs and External Trade Minister DN Dhungyel arrived at Paro International Airport on Thursday after concluding their visit to Bumthang, as part of Dr Jaishankar’s three-day official visit to Bhutan from September 16 to 18.
Dr Jaishankar is scheduled to receive a Royal Audience with His Majesty The King and call on the Prime Minister later on Thursday.
During his visit, Dr Jaishankar and Lyonpo DN Dhungyel jointly marked three major bilateral infrastructure projects on Wednesday, underlining the longstanding development partnership between India and Bhutan.
The two ministers participated in the laying of the foundation stone for the 500-kW Lunana Hydropower Project in Gasa and inaugurated the 65-bed Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Mongar and the 80-metre-long Jaganathan Bridge in Samdrup Jongkhar, according to the Embassy of India in Thimphu.
The Lunana Hydropower Project is aimed at providing electricity to Bhutan’s remaining unelectrified settlements. The Embassy described it as a milestone in the longstanding energy cooperation between India and Bhutan, dating back to Bhutan’s first hydroelectric plant at Jungshina in Thimphu in 1967.
The Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Mongar is a state-of-the-art 65-bed specialist facility aimed at strengthening access to quality and specialised maternal and child healthcare services in eastern Bhutan.
The Jaganathan Bridge, constructed by Project Dantak under the Bhutan-India Friendship framework, is expected to improve connectivity between Trashigang and Samdrup Jongkhar in eastern Bhutan.
The three projects span energy, healthcare, and infrastructure development, reflecting the broad-based nature of the development partnership between India and Bhutan.
Dr Jaishankar’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and is aimed at further strengthening the longstanding ties of friendship and cooperation between India and Bhutan.