External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar conveyed greetings on the occasion of Bhutan’s 113th National Day through a public tweet on 17 December 2020. The President of India and the Prime Minister of India also separately conveyed greetings to their counterparts in Bhutan.

Acceding to the Royal Governemnt of Bhutan’s request, the Government of India agreed to open new trade routes for Bhutan’s bilateral and transit trade with India, viz. notifying Nagarkata as a permanent Land Customs Station (LCS) without any commodity restrictions, inclusion of two new riverine routes at Jogighopa and Pandu, and inclusion of Agartala LCS on 1 December 2020.

As committed by the two Prime Ministers of India and Bhutan in August 2019, the Department of Information Technology and Telecom, under the Ministry of Information and Communications of Bhutan, in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will be jointly developing a small satellite for Bhutan. In this vein, ISRO is organizing a training programme for four Bhutanese engineers at ISRO, Bengaluru from 28 December 2020 to 25 February 2021.

On 24 December 2020, GoI handed over the 9th consignment of medical supplies with 20,000 Covid-19 RT-PCR tests to the Royal Government of Bhutan, to assist Bhutan in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic amid the second nation-wide lockdown in the country.

The Minister of Economic Affairs of Bhutan Lyonpo Loknath Sharma presented his virtual address on the topic “Reworking the response to climate change: Bringing the world together” and also spoke at the Ministerial Session of the ‘Partnership Summit’, a flagship event of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

On 8 December 2020, the Embassy organised a Virtual Conference on “Organic Farming” between stakeholders from Bhutan and Sikkim, India, aimed at expanding our bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector, including in the trade of organic agri-products. Participants at the event included senior officials from the Royal Government of Bhutan led by the Agriculture Secretary, President of the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, over 50 representatives from the private sector of Bhutan, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI and officials from Sikkim.

A special series of customized e-ITEC training courses for Judges and Judicial Officers of Bhutan is being hosted by the National Law University, Jodhpur under the Government of India’s ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme, in consultation with the Bhutan National Legal Institute. The first of these fourteen 3-day intensive capsule style e-ITEC training programmes on ‘International Commercial Arbitration’ was held from 9-11 December 2020.

Following the tour of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Biological E, arranged for 64 foreign envoys by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Bhutan's Ambassador to India Major General Vetsop Namgyel said that India's COVID-19 vaccines will benefit most countries, adding that India's vaccines will be the 'easiest to administer and transport' as the country is 'known to produce in bulk quantities'.

Bhutanese diplomats Sonam Palden & Kezang Dema have joined officers of the Indian Foreign Service 2020 batch for partaking of core foreign service training at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, New Delhi.

The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India organized an e-ITEC training course for medical professionals from neighbouring countries, including Bhutan, on “Novel vaccine development and immunization policy in a pandemic” on 4 and 11 December 2020. This is a part of India’s ‘science diplomacy’ initiative for strengthening clinical trial capacity for Phase-III clinical trials of Indian COVID-19 vaccine candidates in neighbouring countries.

Ambassador of India took stock of progress of development assistance projects & the status of High Impact Community Development projects with GNHC team led by Dasho Thinley Namgyel on 4 December 2020.

President of the United States Donald Trump conferred the ‘ Legion of Merit’ award on Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India on 21 December 2020.

MOS for External Affairs inaugurated the website of the 16th #PravasiBhartiyaDivas i.e. https://pbdindia.gov.in/en.
All members of the 31 million strong overseas Indians are invited to visit the website and GOI looks forward to meaningfully engage them through #PBD2021.

The Prime Minister of India laid the the foundation stone of the new Parliament Building on 10 December 2020. Do click the link to access a short video on the new Parliament Building project.

A visit of more than 60 Heads of Missions was arranged to the research and manufacturing facilities of the leading biotechnology companies, Bharat Biotech and Biological E, in Hyderabad.

India is not only leading the world in research for vaccines but also leading in meeting the world’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
#VasudhaivaKutumbakam #TheWorldisOneFamily

Prime Minister of India has proposed the creation of a digital library of traditional Buddhist literature & scriptures hosted and resourced by India that would be freely available for all monks & scholars of #Buddhism.

Invest India won the UNCTAD Investment Promotion Award 2020 - a testament to #NewIndia's meteoric rise as a preferred global investment destination!

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention on 12 December 2020 via video conferencing. The Prime Minister complimented the Indian private sector for not only meeting the domestic needs but also for its capability to establish strong 'Brand India' at a global level.

Our farmers have been provided adequate protection under the new farm laws. Sale, lease, or mortgage of farmers’ land is totally prohibited and an effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided.

PM flagged off the 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola, Maharashtra to Shalimar, West Bengal on 28 December, 2020.

As part of the Bhutan Echoes Literature Festival, Ambassador undertook a book reading session at the Folk Heritage Museum with the students of Motithang Higher Secondary School, Thimphu.

Ambassador extended greetings on the occasion of the 113th National Day of Bhutan on 17 December 2020

Ambassador interacted and engaged with the recipients of the prestigious Nehru Wangchuck Scholarship at the India House Estate on 7 December 2020.

A special function was organized at the India House auditorium to celebrate the ongoing Nehru-Wangchuck Scholarship Programme, the India-Bhutan Friendship Scholarship and other scholarships offered to Bhutanese students by the Government of India.

Congratulations to Karma Choden from Bhutan, who has won the first prize in the “Weaving Relations: Textile Traditions” global video blogging competition hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Karma’s exceptional work was selected over contestants from 21 other countries.

Inviting all Bhutanese nationals & fellow Indians resident in Bhutan are invited to take part in a photography competition in the run-up to Republic Day 2021. Send your digital image entries which captures the spirit of India-Bhutan friendship to cul.thimphu@mea.gov.in. Please read the competition guidelines and rules on the website of the Embassy of India.

Recalling the visit of the 2nd Druk Gyalpo and Her Majesty Ashi Phuntsho Choden Wangchuck to Calcutta in 1934 which was one of the early India-Bhutan links on the 113th National Day of Bhutan : https://kuenselonline.com/bhutan-comes-to-calcutta/…

Congratulations Bhutan!
On winning the top award along with New Zealand in the International Destination - Best Green Country at the Travel and Leisure India Best Awards 2020.

Delighted to welcome back the famous black necked cranes which migrate to the Phobjikha valley, Bhutan every winter. On 30 November, RSPN Phobjikha reported that there were 357 cranes in the Gangtey-Phobjikha valley including 33 juveniles and 324 adults.