THIMPHU: S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, and his Bhutan counterpart Tandi Dorji inaugurated three India-backed projects on Friday, April 29. The three projects included two key roads that were completed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jaishankar addressed a ceremony in Thimphu during his visit to Bhutan to mark the handing over and inauguration of the projects and said that India will stand resolutely by Bhutan’s side through a post-Covid sustainable recovery. He also handed over 2,000 boxes of essential medical supplies to support Bhutan’s fight against the ongoing pandemic.
The two foreign ministers virtually inaugurated the four-lane road from Jungshina to Chubachu, the Bajo-Khuruthang secondary national highway and a new bus terminal in Bumthang. Jaishankar noted that these projects were completed in the past two years despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. He also mentioned how the financial connectivity between India and Bhutan has been strengthened through the launch of the RuPay card and the BHIM app. Moreover, the two nations are closely collaborating on STEM through the regular placement of Bhutanese nationals in the Indian Institutes of Technology. Jaishankar then referred to the start-up systems of the two countries being linked through structured workshops and said that the connection between India’s National Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s Druk-REN and the e-library project have opened new vistas of education and knowledge-sharing in both the nations.