New Delhi: Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on Wednesday thanked PM Narendra Modi for India’s support to the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan as well as the Gelephu Mindfulness City Project.
Both leaders also reviewed the progress in bilateral cooperation in several key sectors – including energy, connectivity, development partnership and people to people connect – during their meeting held on the sidelines of the India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
As they reaffirmed their commitment to advance cooperation in priority areas of energy, connectivity and development partnership, the two leaders reviewed the progress in diverse areas of cooperation building on the outcomes of the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Modi to Bhutan in November 2025.
“The meeting with PM Tshering Tobgay was outstanding. We discussed how we can harness the power of AI for global good and in harmony with principles of sustainability. Our enduring India-Bhutan friendship, rooted in mutual trust, goodwill and close ties between our two peoples, continues to guide our partnership into new and transformative domains,” PM Modi posted on X after the meeting.
According to the Ministry of Exernal Affairs (MEA), in keeping with the high emphasis placed on harnessing new technologies for growth and prosperity by both countries, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in AI and digital technology space through mutual sharing of experience and expertise as well as joint development of AI solutions.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to work closely to further strengthen the India-Bhutan partnership anchored in trust, goodwill and mutual respect.
India and Bhutan share a tradition of regular high-level exchanges and continue to explore new avenues of cooperation, while building on their deep-rooted ties in energy, infrastructure, and cultural exchange.
Last November, PM Modi visited Thimphu on a two-day visit which aimed at deepening India-Bhutan partnership and reinforcing India’s commitment to its Neighbourhood First Policy.
PM Modi’s visit coincided with the exposition of the Sacred Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha from India. He also offered prayers to the Holy Relics at Tashichhodzong in Thimphu and participated in the Global Peace Prayer Festival organised by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
The visit also marked another major milestone in India-Bhutan energy partnership with the inauguration of the Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project.
“The basic framework of India-Bhutan relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries, which was renewed in February 2007,” the MEA has stated before.
The India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit — which was first signed in 1972 and revised most recently for the fifth time in 2016 — establishes a free trade regime between the two countries. The Agreement also provides for duty free transit of Bhutanese exports to third countries. Bilateral trade is conducted in Indian Rupees, which is at par with the Bhutanese Ngultrum.
India is Bhutan’s top trade partner, both as an import source and as an export destination. Since 2014, India’s trade with Bhutan has increased more than three times — from $484 million in 2014-15 to $1,777.44 million in 2024-25, accounting for over 80 per cent of Bhutan’s overall trade. Throughout this period, the balance of trade has consistently remained in India’s favour.
India’s major exports to Bhutan include petrol and diesel, rice, wood charcoal, coke and semi-coke, ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore, maize (excluding seed), soya-bean oil, smartphones, and iron or steel structures and parts, among others.
On the other hand, India’s key imports from Bhutan consist of electricity, ferro-silicon, dolomite chips, ferro-silico-manganese, Portland pozzolana cement, pebbles and gravel, dolomite slabs, semi-finished iron or non-alloy steel products, beer made from malt, and ordinary Portland cement.
(IANS)
