India and Bhutan have agreed to establish two cross-border rail links between Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse. Giving details about the rail project with Bhutan, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that this project is connecting two very important cities of Bhutan, namely Gelephu and Samtse.
He said, these two projects will take off from the Indian Railway network at Kokrajhar and Banarhat. Mr Vaishnaw said that around 90 90-kilometre rail route will be constructed at an estimated cost of four thousand and 33 crore rupees. The Union Minister emphasised that it is very important to have very good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow.
Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that this will be the first set of rail connectivity projects with Bhutan by India. He said the Memorandum of Understanding for this connectivity was actually signed last year during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan.
Mr Misri said that India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect and understanding. He said, This is a relationship that is rooted in cultural and civilizational ties, extensive people-to-people relations, and our shared developmental and security interests. He said India is the top trading partner of Bhutan.
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