THIMPHU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Bhutan on a two-day state visit. Modi was received by his Bhutanese counterpart Dr Lotay Tshering and others on his arrival at the Paro International Airport.
PM Modi received a guard of honour at the airport.PM Modi is in Thimphu on his second visit to Bhutan and the first since his re-election in May this year.
Addressing the students of the Royal University of Bhutan here, Modi asked them to work hard and take the Himalayan nation to great heights.Modi said India is keen to cooperate extensively in new frontiers, from schools to space, digital payments to disaster management.
Referring to India’s space programmes and the moon mission Chandrayaan-2, PM Modi said Bhutan is also on its way to having its own satellite.
PM Modi later held delegation levels talk with Dr. Lotay Tshering where steps to further expand India-Bhutan partnership across several sectors were discussed said a tweet from foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
PM Modi also launched RuPay Card in Bhutan by shopping at Simtokha Dzong, built in 1629, now a monastic and administrative centre and one of the oldest dzongs or fortresses in the Himalayan nation.
India is providing Rs 5,000 crore for Bhutan’s 12th five-year plan that began in 2018, the same as the allocation for the previous plan.PM Modi paid his respects at the National Memorial Chorten, a revered monument honouring the late Third Druk Gyalpo.
