Bhutanese PM calls on President Kovind

Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering called on President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday, the concluding day of his three-day visit to India.

Welcoming Tshering and his delegation on the golden jubilee year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Kovind said India welcomed the successful conduct of the third general elections in Bhutan and congratulated Tshering on the victory of his party, Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT), according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.

"The President reiterated India's commitment to partner in the socio-economic development of Bhutan and to support its 12th Five-Year Plan based on its priorities," the statement said.

Tshering's DNT, formed in 2013, won 30 of the 47 National Assembly seats in the elections held in October.

The country of 800,000 people, located between India and China, has chosen a different party to rule at each election since the end of the absolute monarchy in 2008.

Tshering arrived here on Thursday on his first official visit after assuming office on November 7.

On Friday, he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks following which the latter announced that India would contribute Rs 4,500 to Bhutan's 12th Five-Year Plan, that runs from 2018 to 2023.

The two leaders also reviewed progress of work on various hydro-power projects being built in the Himalayan kingdom with India's aid and reiterated their commitment to jointly develop 10,000 MW of hydro-power generating capacity there.

New Delhi has already set up three hydro-power projects in Bhutan with a total capacity of 1,416 MW, which are operational. About three-fourths of the power generated is exported to India and the rest is used for domestic consumption.

India is a leading development aid partner for Bhutan. There are a number of institutional mechanisms between India and Bhutan in areas like security, border management, trade, economy, hydroelectricity, development cooperation and water resources.

India is also Bhutan's largest trading partner.

--IANS

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