Terming India as a 'partner', Bhutan today said it should expedite the development of a few more hydro projects in the next couple of years and invited Indian companies to explore the possibility of investments.
"What we are looking for in the next two to three years is to expedite the development of a few more hydro projects. Our expectations from India are a couple of things --interest expressed by Indian companies to come to Bhutan, the ongoing interest to exploit natural resources for our purposes," Sonam Kinga, chairperson of the National Council of Bhutan, told PTI.
He also said his country also expects Indian companies to come to Bhutan and also see India's interest in exploiting natural recources for their purposes.
The Chairman of the Bhutan's National Council said "this (hydro) is one project where irrespective of the size of both the country's economies, mutual benifits can be harnessed through cooperation and this is a very successful project".
"We also expect that once power is produced and since there is a guaranteed need for power in India, it will give us the impetus for an accelerated economic development and it will also contribute in small but meaningful ways to India's need for power," Kinga added.
Asked about the recent stopping of subsidy given to Bhutan by India on LPG and Kerosene and then restoring it, Kinga said he and the Bhutanese people do not believe that India had decided to take away the subsidy.
"It has been explained to us by the Indian Ambassador to Bhutan that the timing of the Bhutanese election and the end of the tenth five year plan coincided so much so that there was no continuity to begin the talk. It was not a removal (of subsidy) but the talk that needed to happen could not be possible since there was ongoing election and there was no government in place (in Bhutan)," Kinga said.
Asked about the recent Rs 1 billion grant provided by India to Bhutan for the new government's Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP) and India's commitment to provide Rs 5 billion to the Himalayan nation, outside the 11th Plan assistance, Kinga said it was a "generous act" by India.
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