Will further strengthen our friendship with India: Bhutanese PM after meeting Gautam Adani

Ahmedabad: Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay on Wednesday said their visit will further strengthen the friendship ties between Bhutan and Bharat, as they wrapped up the three-day visit to Gujarat where they also visited the Adani Group-operated world's largest Renewable Energy (RE) site at Khavda and Mundra Port.

The delegation also visited the GIFT City, an upcoming global financial and IT services hub, near Gandhinagar.

"We are inspired by what has been achieved in such a short time in this Smart City. Our visit here will further strengthen strong ties of friendship between Bhutan and Bharat. On behalf of His Majesty, the King of Bhutan, I would like to thank the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, for the wonderful arrangements," Tobgay told the media.

The Bhutanese delegation also visited the Statue of Unity which was like a "pilgrimage" for them.

The Bhutanese PM also called for a partnership between India and Bhutan for the development of the ‘Mindfulness City', planned at Gelephu town in southern Bhutan near the border with India.

The state government said the visiting delegation was impressed after seeing "world-class infrastructure and other high-tech systems such as the district cooling system and utility tunnel".

On Tuesday, Wangchuck and Tobgay visited the world's largest Renewable Energy (RE) site at Khavda which is operated by the Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the country's largest and one of the world's leading RE companies. Later, they also visited the mega port at Mundra, the largest commercial port in India with state-of-the-art infrastructure run by the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) -- the biggest commercial ports operator in India accounting for nearly one-fourth of the cargo movement in the country.

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said he was "immensely grateful" for their visit to Adani's 30 GW Renewable Energy site at Khavda and Mundra Port. Last month, the Adani Group announced the signing of an agreement with Bhutan for a 570 MW green hydro plant, along with collaboration on several transformative infrastructure initiatives in the neighbouring country. The announcement was made following Gautam Adani's meeting with the Bhutanese PM in Thimphu.

India and Bhutan continue to intensify bilateral cooperation, including development partnership, energy, trade and investment, connectivity and trade infrastructure, technology, people-to-people ties, as well as other regional issues of mutual importance.