Bhutan PM agrees strong, prosperous India good for his country

Bhutan's Premier Tshering Tobgay Monday agreed with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a strong and prosperous India is beneficial to his landlocked country, saying "Bhutan's future is closely linked to India's future".

"Bhutan's future is closely linked to India's future, particularly when it comes to the economy. If india prospers, Bhutan should also prosper. As a small landlocked country, we cannot prosper on our own," Tobgay told media persons here, after Modi's two-day official visit to the Himalayan nation.

Earlier, addressing a joint session of Bhutan's parliament, Modi said that if India progresses, it will directly impact the development of its neighbours.

"Stability and development in India will help neighbours like Bhutan," he said during a rousing speech delivered extempore in Hindi.

Praising Modi, Tobgay said the Indian leader takes the region very seriously.

Asked to spell out the message of the Indian prime minister's visit, the Bhutanese premier said: "He takes Bhutan very seriously. He wants to make sure that nobody has doubts that Bhutan is very important to India."

Tobgay said the centrepiece of his country's cooperation is the target to generate 10,000 MW of hydel power by 2020.

He also welcomed Modi's suggestions for setting up a central Himalayan university and starting a hill sports meet involving Bhutan, Nepal and India's northeastern states.