Watch | Gelephu megacity dreams | Bhutan PM interview | Worldview

This week we are looking at Bhutan, India’s smallest and most reclusive neighbour, that rarely gets spoken about.

But now, with an announcement made in December by the Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is hoping to make a big splash, with the creation of the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) to its south bordering Assam.

The plan for Gelephu includes:

Developing about 2,000 square kms of Bhutanese territory as a carbon-negative Special Administrative Region, attracting investors and service industry giants to set up there. A Danish firm has already been chosen and is working on plans for buildings, bridges, markets and a dam.

Building a new airport to replace the existing airstrip- this is one of the most cost-intensive projects, and Indian officials have already visited for feasibility studies.

Special facilities to bring in IT companies, health, hospitality, educations sectors in particular.

Investment in infrastructure and connectivity – India has already committed to a rail line right up to Gelephu, a ₹1,000 crore project, transit trade, border checkpoint facilities for trade and upgrading roads to the North East and Bangladesh, the trination highway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a doubling of Bhutan’s outlay for the next 5 year plan, from ₹5,000 crore to 10,000, of which about ₹1,500 crore is part of an economic stimulus plan for Bhutan.

The plan for Gelephu as a megacity is not new. Many countries have such plans, like Saudi Arabia’s NEOM; Indonesia’s Nusantara; Egypt’s New Administrative Capital; India had the ambitious Amravati project which was shelved; Pakistan has Gwadar Port and City- built by China; Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port project, which has now been leased to China due to financial losses.

We spoke to Bhutan’s PM Tshering Tobgay, and asked him how feasible this plan for Gelephu is, and how to avoid the pitfalls of becoming a white elephant.

Script and presentation: Suhasini Haidar

Production: Shibu Narayan

A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
| Photo Credit: PTI

India has released the second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan for the development of infrastructure related to the GyalSung Project.

This comes less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23 concluded a fruitful two-day state visit to Bhutan during which he assured Thimphu of New Delhi’s firm support in its quest for development and agreed to provide ₹10,000 crore to the Himalayan nation over the next five years.

Also read: Unbreakable: On India-Bhutan ties

The second tranche was handed over by India’s Ambassador to Bhutan Sudhakar Dalela to Bhutan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Lyonpo D N Dhungyel.

The first tranche of ₹500 crore was released on January 28 earlier this year.

“India is privileged to partner with Bhutan on a landmark initiative of His Majesty the King of Bhutan, which puts the youth and skilling at the heart of nation-building endeavours,” a statement from the Indian Embassy in Thimpu said on Tuesday.

Also read: With Bhutan’s Gelephu project in mind, India to double assistance to ₹10,000 crore for next 5 years

With this, the Government of India has released a total of ₹1,000 crore to the Government of Bhutan under the Memorandum of Understanding on the concessionary financing arrangements for the GyalSung Infrastructure Project, the statement said.

The MoU, signed in January 2024, provides a framework for the disbursal of ₹1,500 crore as concessionary financing to the Government of Bhutan for infrastructure development related to the GyalSung academies.

“This financing arrangement is in addition to the Government of India’s Plan Assistance to the Government of Bhutan,” it added.

Thimphu:

India and Bhutan today exchanged several strategic MoUs and signed agreements in the fields of energy, trade, digital connectivity, space and agriculture, and finalised the MoU on the establishment of rail links between the two nations.

The MoUs were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay during the ongoing two-day State visit of PM Modi.

Prime Minister Modi met his Bhutanese counterpart in Thimphu “over a working lunch hosted in his honour”.

He thanked Prime Minister Tobgay for the “exceptional public welcome accorded to him, with people greeting him all along the journey from Paro to Thimphu,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said here in a statement.

The two leaders held discussions on various aspects of the multi-faceted bilateral relations and “forged an understanding to further enhance cooperation in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, youth exchange, environment and forestry, and tourism,” it said.

India and Bhutan enjoy long-standing and exceptional ties characterised by utmost trust, goodwill, and mutual understanding at all levels, the MEA said.

“Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister of Bhutan witnessed exchange of several MoUs/Agreements on energy, trade, digital connectivity, space, agriculture, and youth connect among others,” the statement said.

In addition, both sides have also “agreed on and initialled the text of the MoU” on the establishment of rail links between India and Bhutan, India’s Ministry of External Affairs here said.

The MoU provides for the establishment of two proposed rail links between India and Bhutan, including the Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link and Banarhat-Samtse rail link and their implementation modalities, it said.

MoU on general supply of Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants (POL) and related products from India to Bhutan provides for a list of petroleum, oil, lubricants related items.

India would facilitate its supply to Bhutan through agreed entry/exit points, the statement said.

Agreement for recognition of official control exercised by Bhutan Food And Drug Authority (BFDA) by the Food Safety and Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) will facilitate the trade between India and Bhutan by promoting ease of doing business and reducing compliance costs on both sides.

The MoU will make the export inspection certificate issued by BFDA acceptable by FSSAI for compliance with requirements prescribed by FSSAI while exporting the products to India.

The MoU on cooperation in the field of Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation measures aims to assist Bhutan in enhancing energy efficiency in the household sector by promoting a star labelling programme developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

The MoU covers facilitating the formulation of building codes based on India’s experience, creation of a pool of energy professionals at Bhutan by institutionalising training of energy auditors etc.

The MoU on cooperation in Sports and Youth would help further the people-to-people linkages between India and Bhutan by advancing linkages between sports agencies of both sides and conducting sports activities/programmes.

The MoU on cooperation concerning sharing reference standards, pharmacopoeia, vigilance and testing of medicinal products.

This MoU would help further develop our close cooperation and exchange information in the field of the regulation of medicines under the respective laws and regulations of each side.

The MoU would allow for the acceptance of Indian Pharmacopoeia by Bhutan as a book of standards for medicines and supply of generic medicines at affordable prices.

A Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) on Space Cooperation provides a concrete roadmap for further developing our space cooperation through exchange programmes, training etc.

The Renewal of MoU on Peering Arrangement between National Knowledge Network of India (NKN) and Druk Research And Education Network of Bhutan.

This MoU is between the National Knowledge Network (NKN) of India and the Druk Research and Education Network (DrukREN) of Bhutan to renew the peering agreement between NKN and DrukREN, The MoU will enhance digital connectivity between India and Bhutan and will benefit the scholars and research institutions of Bhutan.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on March 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

A day ahead of his planned departure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put off his visit to Bhutan due to “inclement weather”, an announcement made simultaneously by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Bhutanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday evening. The visit is being rescheduled, although no dates were given. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to land in Paro, Bhutan’s only international airport at present, and travel to the capital Thimphu on Thursday morning, and return by the same route on Friday morning. However, with heavy rain and possible snowfall in Paro predicted to continue on Thursday, officials said the visit had to be postponed.

“Due to ongoing inclement weather conditions over Paro airport, it has been mutually decided to postpone the State visit of Prime Minister to Bhutan on 21-22 March 2024. New dates are being worked out by the two sides through diplomatic channels,” the statements said. Reports on the uncertainty over the visit grew a few hours prior to the announcement, when a press conference to be held by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Wednesday afternoon was suddenly cancelled.

Officials said the final decision was taken given Paro airport’s particularly tricky “visual landing” requirements in the mountainous region, and impaired line of sight due to incessant rain, making the PM’s flight risky. 

During his 24-hour State visit to Bhutan, Mr. Modi was due to receive Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, that was conferred on him in 2021. This would have been the PM’s first visit since the award was announced, and was due to be presented the award by Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in appreciation for his efforts towards strengthening India-Bhutan ties, and in particular India’s provision of the first round of 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. The Prime Minister’s visit, that would have followed just a week after Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay’s visit to Delhi, was seen as unusual, as by convention Prime Ministers forego bilateral visits after election dates have been scheduled. However, sources said, the gesture was meant to denote India’s commitment to Bhutan in particular, and to the government’s “neighbourhood first” policy. 

Also read | PM holds talks with Bhutanese counterpart

Officials involved in the planning of the visit said all preparations had been completed for Mr. Modi’s visit before the unforeseen weather conditions. The itinerary had included a ceremonial welcome for Mr. Modi at the Tashichhodzong complex, an audience and a royal banquet hosted by the Bhutanese King on Thursday, followed by the inauguration of a ‘Mother and Child Hospital’ supported by Indian development funding on Friday. Sources said they hoped the new dates for Mr. Modi’s visit would be intimated soon, but much would depend on clearing his already busy schedule during the election campaign, once the weather in Paro cleared up. 

King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will begin a eight-day visit to India on November 3, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It said the visit would provide an opportunity to both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and further advance the “exemplary” partnership.

The King of Bhutan will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to deliberate on various aspects of close India-Bhutan ties.

“External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and senior officials of the government will call on the King of Bhutan,” the MEA said on November 2.

“The King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, accompanied by senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan, will be on an official visit to India from November 3 to 10,” it said in a statement. The King will also visit the States of Assam and Maharashtra.

“India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterised by understanding and mutual trust,” the MEA said.

“The visit would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the exemplary bilateral partnership, across diverse sectors,” it said.