Govt approves MoU on technical cooperation between India, Bhutan

With an aim to take forward India-Bhutan friendship treaty, the government gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bhutan on technical cooperation in the field of capacity building, benchmarking and bilateral exchange in infrastructure engineering. This will provide an umbrella for educational, scientific and technical research and environment protection.

Through this MoU, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), a construction major under the Urban Development Ministry, will gain experience in construction of roads on hills which will be helpful in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and various States of North-East Region. The CPWD also expects to garner some road construction projects in Bhutan.

India and Bhutan have long standing diplomatic, economic and cultural relations with each other. The India-Bhutan friendship treaty signed on February, 2007 also strengthens the mutual relations. During the PM's visit to Bhutan in June 2014, the two sides agreed to continue close coordination and cooperation in areas relating to their national interest.