Thai PM meets his Bhutanese counterpart

BHUTAN, July 21 (TNA) -- Thai Prime Minister Prayut and his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay agree to foster bilateral cooperation in the fields of health, education and human resource development. On Friday, the second day of his Bhutan visit, Gen Prayut visited a center for Bhutan’s marketing scheme “One Gewog One Product” (OGOP), which is similar to Thailand’s One Tambon One Product (OTOP) scheme. Both projects promote locally-made products with unique local characteristics for the benefits of people. Gen Prayut and his wife, Naraporn, then met with a group of Thai people participating in “Friends from Thailand” program. They provided IT, language and vocational trainings for Bhutanese people. In a royal audience with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Queen Consort Jetsun Pema on Thursday, Gen Prayut said the King praised the relationships between the two kingdoms and expressed wish for continued cooperation for mutual benefits. Gen Prayut also revealed that the Bhutanese Prime Minister agreed to promote friendship and mutual areas of cooperation on education, rural development, culture and religion. The Thai premier said he reaffirmed Thailand’s supports for Bhutan development projects to improve education for remote areas, irrigation, water management and agriculture. Thailand and Bhutan established formal diplomatic relations in 1989. Gen Prayut and his wife returned to Thailand Friday night. (TNA)