India, Bhutan look forward to harnessing space science for betterment of people

Thimphu: India and Bhutan on Friday said they look forward to further “deepening collaborative activities” under the joint space initiative to harness space science and technology for societal good and the betterment of people from both countries.

At the first meeting of the Bhutan-India Joint Working Group held here, both sides reviewed the ongoing bilateral space cooperation and charted out the way forward on the different areas outlined in the Joint Plan of Action (JPoA) on Space Cooperation, a joint press release said.

The JPoA -- which provides a concrete roadmap for bilateral cooperation in the Space sector -- was signed during the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan in March 2024.

In consonance with the JPoA, signed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and GovTech Agency of Bhutan, additional 16 MHz bandwidth was allocated to Bhutan on the South Asia Satellite by the ISRO, the joint press release said.

“India and Bhutan look forward to further deepening collaborative activities under the JPoA on Space Cooperation, to harness space science and technology for societal good and the betterment of our two peoples,” it added.

India and Bhutan share a dynamic partnership in the Space sector, which includes cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, signed in November 2020.

The two sides jointly developed a satellite ‘INDIA-BHUTAN SAT’, which was launched in November 2022 by ISRO.

India has also extended capacity-building opportunities to Bhutanese engineers and experts, the release added.