Thimphu, April 7 : India and Bhutan held the 17th Monthly Coordination Meeting in Thimphu, where both sides discussed progress and charted next steps for projects underway in the Himalayan nation with the Indian government's support.

The meeting organised on Monday was co-chaired by the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Thimphu and the Director General of the Department of Macro-Fiscal and Development Finance (DMDF) in Bhutan's Ministry of Finance.

During the meeting, Indian Deputy Chief of Mission Aniket Govind Mandavgane handed over cheques amounting to Rs 42.3 crore (Bhutanese Nu 423 million) to the Bhutanese Ministry of Finance towards the implementation of projects under the 13th Five-Year Plan of the Himalayan nation.

According to the Indian Embassy in Thimphu, Rs 16.86 crore (Nu. 168.6 million) was released for strengthening infrastructure facilities for the Zhung Dratshang, the Central Monastic Body in Bhutan.

The funding aims to create conducive living, learning, and spiritual environments; preserve and continue cultural and spiritual practices; and ensure the sanitation, safety, and well-being of monks and nuns.

Additionally, Rs 15.01 crore (Nu. 150.1 million) was allocated for the construction of the modern, high-standard Khuru-Kuenphen bridge on Bajo-Khuru SNH, which was inaugurated on March 27.

Meanwhile, to improve road transport, Rs 5.44 crore (Nu. 54.4 million) was released for upgrading 17 km of road to the standard of a Primary National Highway to align with the entire length of the Northern East West Highway (NEWH).

The Indian mission said that this project is expected to "facilitate smooth and fast movement of all types of vehicular traffic and reduce travel time and vehicle operating cost as well as risk for the commuters."

Furthermore, Rs 4.99 crore (Nu 49.9 million) was released for the upgrade and development of the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) campus, including renovation of hostels; procurement of library resources, computers and accessories for labs and offices; and establishment of linkages with Indian institutions.

Both sides also reviewed progress and addressed implementation issues of Government of India-supported projects under the 13th Five-Year Plan.

This included 'Human Resource Development and Skilling Programmes' being implemented by the Bhutanese Ministry of Education and Skills Development to enhance productivity and performance of the workforce engaged in different priority sectors through re-skilling and up-skilling activities.

The meeting also discussed the status of implementation of activities under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP), the Indian Embassy mentioned.

India has committed Rs 10,000 crore total for the plan period, with regular disbursements covering infrastructure, including colleges and irrigation, mega farms, and governance initiatives to strengthen the longstanding bilateral development partnership.

/IANS