PM Modi likely to visit Bhutan next week

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Bhutan on November 11-12 in what will be his fourth visit to the Himalayan kingdom since 2014, official sources confirmed to The Tribune on Friday.

The visit, expected to coincide with the 70th birthday celebrations of Bhutan’s former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, will carry both ceremonial and developmental significance, featuring key infrastructure inaugurations and cultural engagements.

According to sources, the highlight of the visit will be the inauguration of the 1,020 MW Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project, a major Indo-Bhutan collaboration financed through Indian grants and loans. The project is expected to boost Bhutan’s electricity generation capacity and increase its clean-energy exports to India — a cornerstone of the two countries’ economic partnership.

Modi and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay are also expected to review progress on new connectivity initiatives, including two proposed rail-link projects: the Kokrajhar-Gelephu line connecting Assam to southern Bhutan and the Banarhat-Samtse corridor linking West Bengal with western Bhutan.

While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not yet formally announced the visit, officials indicated that final details of the itinerary, including high-level meetings and project-signing ceremonies, are being worked out. “We will share details once the programme is finalised,” an MEA source said.

India remains Bhutan’s largest development partner, extending assistance across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, digital connectivity, health, education, agriculture and human resource development. Bilateral cooperation is coordinated through the annual plan talks, which jointly determine development priorities and funding modalities.

High-impact community development projects — small-scale schemes in areas such as drinking-water supply, rural roads and irrigation — have also been a major focus of India’s assistance, alongside direct budgetary support to the Royal Government of Bhutan.

During his previous visit to Thimphu in March 2024, Modi had announced a Rs 10,000-crore commitment for Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan. The first tranche, worth about Rs 5,000 crore under India’s project-tied assistance, was finalised in July 2024 during bilateral plan talks, co-chaired by the foreign secretaries of the two countries.