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Journalism of Courage
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday conveyed to Bhutans newly-elected Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay that India will give Rs 5,000 crore financial assistance to Bhutans 11th Five Year Plan from 2013 to 2018.
As first reported by The Indian Express on August 27,Indias assistance was announced in a joint statement which said,The Governments assistance for Bhutans 11th Five Year Plan for the period July 1,2013 to June 30,2018,was agreed upon. At Bhutans request,India will contribute Rs 4,500 crore towards Bhutans 11th Plan and Rs 500 crore towards an Economic Stimulus Package.
Sources said that another Rs 400 crore will be added in the package,which is the unspent part of the Bhutans last Five Year Plan. In total,the financial assistance will be about Rs 5,400 crore.
Another important outcome of Singh and Tobgays meeting was that the two sides reaffirmed the trust and confidence between the two countries and their mutual security interests. Recently,Bhutan held border talks with China,and Delhi wants to keep itself in the loop about the issue. The importance of continued cooperation in developing hydroelectric projects in Bhutan was also agreed upon during the Prime Ministers meeting. India also reassured the Bhutanese PM of its commitment to capacity building in Bhutan.
