India and Bhutan have approved 12 new Project-Tied Assistance (PTA) projects worth Nu. 3.32 billion and signed a concessional Line of Credit agreement worth Nu. 40 billion to further strengthen Bhutan’s development agenda, following the Fifth India–Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks held in Thimphu.
The talks were co-chaired by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Bhutan’s Foreign Secretary Pema Lektup Dorji during Misri’s official visit to Bhutan from July 30 to 31.
The meeting reviewed the implementation of India’s support for Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2024–2029), under which the Government of India has committed Nu. 100 billion through Project-Tied Assistance (PTA), High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) and Programme Grants.
The newly approved 12 PTA projects, valued at Nu. 3.32 billion, cover infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, urban amenities and disaster management. With the latest approvals, a total of 82 PTA projects, worth Nu. 68.6 billion, have now been sanctioned under Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan.
The two sides also reviewed progress in the utilisation of Indian financial assistance already released, including Nu. 12.5 billion for Bhutan’s Economic Stimulus Programme, Nu. 7.352 billion for High Impact Community Development Projects, and Nu. 2 billion as Programme Grant support.
A key outcome of the talks was the exchange of an Umbrella Line of Credit Agreement between the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Export-Import Bank of India to operationalise a concessional Line of Credit worth Nu. 40 billion for energy projects in Bhutan.
The two Foreign Secretaries also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan to promote collaboration in medical research, education, training and academic exchanges.
As part of the visit, the two officials virtually inaugurated the Thimphu Ecological Park and the Olakha Park, developed under the India-funded PTA project, Green Infrastructure and Open Spaces in Thimphu. They also handed over 45 electric vehicles, procured under the PTA project Accelerate E-Mobility Uptake in Bhutan, to the Royal Government of Bhutan.
During the discussions, both sides reviewed cooperation across a broad range of sectors, including development partnership, energy, trade and investment, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, as well as regional issues of mutual interest.
India reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Bhutan’s development priorities under the shared vision of His Majesty The King and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the Bhutanese side expressed appreciation for India’s continued assistance and its contribution to the country’s socio-economic development. The two countries agreed to hold the next India–Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks in New Delhi on a mutually convenient date.
India and Bhutan continue to enjoy an enduring bilateral partnership founded on mutual trust, goodwill, close people-to-people ties and more than six decades of development cooperation.
Sangay Rabten, Thimphu
