Bhutan Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay on Thursday invited Indian investors to his country for individual as well as collaborative ventures, especially in the eastern part of the Himalayan kingdom.

He also stressed on showcasing eastern Bhutan and northeastern India together to the outside world to attract tourists.

Speaking at the opening of the first Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the India-Bhutan border at Darranga in Assam, Tobgay said, "We (Bhutanese) didn't need a passport to enter through Assam, but tourists from other countries needed it."

He narrated his own experience of accompanying English tourists in 1986 from Bhutan to Darranga and the problems faced by his companions to enter India.

The ICP will ensure that tourists from other countries can now seamlessly enter into India, he emphasised.

Terming it a "momentous occasion", the prime minister pointed out that not only top officials of Royal Bhutan government were in attendance at the inauguration but the leader of opposition of the country was also present.

"We want to prosper together with India. We export boulders to Bangladesh, but we are also exporting some manufactured goods and we want to boost it further," Togbay said, adding that Bhutan is getting both goods and services from India, which can be increased further.

Stressing his government's initiatives in eastern Bhutan, along which the newly-opened ICP is located, the PM said, "I invite investors from Bhutan to invest more meaningfully in eastern part of our country. I also invite investors from India to invest in ventures of their own as well as in collaborative ventures."

Highlighting the age-old relations between the two countries, he said, "We must build on our friendship and what better way than through people-to-people contact. This ICP will help in tourist as well as business exchanges."

"I also want to commit to a special programme to market eastern Bhutan and northeastern India together to the world," Tobgay added, referring to the shared heritage with the region.

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