Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on Wednesday at the India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
The two leaders reviewed progress across priority areas and agreed to deepen collaboration.
The Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of External Affairs said both leaders endorsed using artificial intelligence for inclusive, human-centred development.
They pledged to boost cooperation in digital technology and AI. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the summit hosted by the IndiaAI Mission.
They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen an enduring partnership founded on trust, goodwill and mutual respect.
The discussion covered energy, connectivity, development partnership and people-to-people ties.
Expanding Strategic Bilateral Engagement
India and Bhutan maintain regular high-level exchanges and continue to explore new avenues of practical cooperation.
Last November, the Prime Minister visited Thimphu for a two-day state visit that sought to deepen bilateral links and underscore India’s Neighbourhood First policy.
He participated in ceremonies associated with the Sacred Piprahwa Relics and offered prayers at Tashichhodzong. He also attended the Global Peace Prayer Festival hosted by the Royal Government.
The visit marked a milestone in the energy partnership with the inauguration of the Punatsangchhu-II hydropower project.
Both sides reviewed ways to expand such collaboration and to enhance infrastructure links that benefit communities in border regions.
The bilateral framework rests on the 1949 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, renewed in 2007.
The India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit (first signed in 1972, revised most recently in 2016) facilitates free trade and duty-free transit for Bhutanese exports. Trade uses the Indian rupee at par with the Ngultrum.
Trade between the two nations has grown markedly. From $484 million in 2014-15, it rose to $1,777.44 million in 2024-25.
India remains Bhutan’s principal trading partner and key source of imports and exports. The talks reinforced a shared determination to broaden cooperation across energy, infrastructure and cultural exchange.
The meeting with PM Tshering Tobgay was outstanding. We discussed how we can harness the power of AI for global good and in harmony with principles of sustainability.
Our enduring India-Bhutan friendship, rooted in mutual trust, goodwill and close ties between our two peoples,… pic.twitter.com/oWBUXmR7EW
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 18, 2026
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