International News: To remoter strengthen India-Bhutan relations, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri jointly spoken a major railway project. This project will connect two Bhutanese cities, Gelephu and Samtse, with India by rail at a forfeit of 4,033 crore. Ashwini Vaishnav explained that this rail project will connect two important cities in Bhutan. Gelephu is stuff ripened as a 'Mindfulness City', and Samtse is an industrial city. Both cities will be unfluctuating to Kokrajhar and Banarhat in India via rail network.
The Kokrajhar-Gelephu line will connect India's major industrial hub, Bongaigaon. Kokrajhar is a regional station, which will connect this project to India's 150,000-kilometer-long rail network. By constructing just 70 kilometers of new track, Bhutan will be unfluctuating to India's vast rail network. In total, this project will create an 89-kilometer rail network.
Ashwini Vaishnav said that India is Bhutan's largest trading partner and most of Bhutan's trade is conducted through Indian ports. Therefore, a good rail connection is essential for Bhutan's economy and connecting its people to the global network.
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During PM Narendra Modi's visit to Bhutan in March 2024, the two countries well-set on two railway lines: Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse. The 16-kilometer-long Banarhat-Samtse section will connect West Bengal with Bhutan. These lines will provide Bhutan with its first rail connectivity. The unshortened project will be funded by the Indian government. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that India and Bhutan have a deep and trusting relationship, based on culture, people-to-people ties, and shared minutiae and security interests.
India Doubles Aid For Bhutan
He moreover stated that India has unchangingly played a major role in Bhutan's development, expressly in infrastructure and economic growth. India has pledged 10,000 crore in aid for Bhutan's 13th Five-Year Plan (2024-2029), double the previous plan's amount. This assistance includes projects, polity development, economic programs, and grants.
