India, Bhutan aim to diversify engagement

Bhutan wants to diversify its engagement with New Delhi beyond hydropower. India also wants to engage with Bhutan in the fields of tourism, education, space and technology. Bhutan seeks to diversify its engagement because its economy is almost completely based on the hydropower sector, which makes its economic growth base very narrow. The hydropower sector also does not create many jobs and the issue of youth employment has gained significant prominence. Bhutan is relatively a young country; 60% of its population is below the age of 25 years. Bhutan’s Statistical Yearbook 2018 says although the overall unemployment rate in Bhutan has fallen from 2.9 % in 2013 to 2.1% in 2016, its youth unemployment rate has grown from 9.6% to 18.2% in the same period. The government wants to develop the manufacturing and service sector as these will help in creating more job opportunities for its youth.

India understands the needs of Bhutan and is equally willing to diversify the relationship beyond hydropower. During his last visit, Modi showed India’s intent towards the diversification of bilateral relations. Out of the 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed during his visit, seven were signed in the field of education and only one MoU was signed on hydropower. As India is aware that Bhutan is placing a lot of emphasis on its education sector, five Indian universities signed MoUs with different universities of Bhutan. Bhutanese students will now get access to India’s National Knowledge Network which will connect them to various E-learning platforms. The signing of MoUs between the universities of both countries will connect the academicians and scholars and will give Bhutanese students good quality education.