Thimphu, July 07: Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyal will visit India this winter, his first state tour after his coronation last November. Addressing the National Assembly, Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley said the dates for the visit of the Oxford-educated king are yet to be finalised.
Thinley also informed the house about his recent four-day tour to India and issues of bilateral concern which the two governments discussed. He told the members of the Lower House that the process of small development projects, a component of the Indian government”s assistance, would start immediately.
“This grant of Rs 7,000 million would go towards poverty reduction and rural development to be implemented by the local governments,” he said. Thinley said New Delhi would assist Bhutan in its pursuit to transform the country as an IT-enabled knowledge society.
The programmes, spread over a period of five years, would be implemented with the help of NIIT. “These programmes would train 7,000 government employees, about 5,000 teachers and 10,000 youth for employment. About 1,600 entrepreneurs would also be trained,” he said.
Three bilateral agreements of the remaining nine power projects would be signed in 2009 to start work from 2010, Thinley said. Thinley”s recent four-day visit to India was his second to the country after assuming office last year.
—PTI—