From development partners to economic allies: Bhutan PM highlights evolving India-Bhutan relations

By Ayushi Agarwal

Thimphu [Bhutan], November 3 (ANI): Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay on Monday said that the relations between India and Bhutan continue to evolve.

"So there's a lot of cooperation already happening. This is being built actually on cooperation that we have enjoyed over millennia because many spiritual masters from India travelled to Bhutan or sometimes to other parts of the Himalayas and ended up in Bhutan and if they didn't come here in person, their teachings ultimately found their home in Bhutan," he told ANI.

He said that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cooperation, Gelephu mindfulness city in Bhutan can be converted to a center for Vajrayana practice.

"Going forward there's a lot we can do with Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India, the people of India, building the Gelephu mindfulness city into a Vajrayana, a center for Vajrayana practice. Just in doing so, many of the schools, Vajrayana schools and denominations in India will find a home in Bhutan. There'll be many monasteries and temples and schools of Vajrayana stupas being built. We have many conferences and in particular the International Vajrayana Conference," he said.

Tobgay said that the basis of India-Bhutan friendship is the leaders.

"There too, our scholars and scholars from India, our spiritual masters and spiritual masters from India get together and hold multi-day conference on Buddhism. Our ties are more than a relationship. It is a friendship and our friendship is very very strong. The anchor of our friendship is our leaders," he said.

He added that the highest leaders of both the countries enjoy tremendous goodwill and Bhutan has benefited from the partnership.

"The highest leaders in India, today Prime Minister Modi and in Bhutan's case our beloved kings, our fourth king, our current king. They enjoy tremendous goodwill and friendship with the leadership in India, in particular Prime Minister Modi. In the past, our cooperation was defined by development partnership and development cooperation and we have benefited tremendously from this partnership with India," he said.

Tobgay further told ANI that apart from the cultural aspect, India-Bhutan ties are improving on the economic front too.

"While this continues even today, this development cooperation continues even to this day, we are stepping up our economic cooperation particularly in the development of hydropower projects," he said.

He then said that the private players from India are also entering the hydropower projects in Bhutan, and are investing in the energy sector.

"Earlier all our hydropower projects were government to government, government of India to government of Bhutan. Now a lot of the private sector from India entering the hydropower space in Bhutan and investing in developing hydropower. So in the energy sector, in the economy in general, but particularly in the energy sector, we see a lot of cooperation," he said.

"Going forward, there's tremendous excitement in the Gelephu for mindfulness city, a special administrative region, a royal vision that has already started being built along our borders with India and this particular project is going to benefit both India and Bhutan and through this partnership is going to benefit much else in South Asia and across Asia and indeed the world," he added.

Tobgay said that the partnership will succeed due to the support of the leadership.

"And this partnership can succeed in Bhutan, it will succeed because of the royal vision and the leadership of His Majesty the King but will also succeed because of the support, unconditional support of the Indian leadership, particularly Prime Minister Modi," he said.

The Global Peace Prayer Festival will be held in Thimphu, Bhutan from 4 to 19 November 2025. (ANI)

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