Assam Govt To Reserve Two Medical Seats For Bhutanese Students

Guwahati: In a bid to promote ties between India and Bhutan, the Assam Government has decided to reserved two seats for students of Bhutan from this academic year in all the medical colleges of state.

Taking to the micro-blogging site twitter, India's Ambassador to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj, said, ''The Assam government has allocated two MBBS seats for #Bhutan from this academic year, to foster the vibrant people-to people ties between our two countries #MesmerisingAssam #Bhutan".

Reportedly, a couple of months ago, the Consul General of Bhutan in Guwahati Phub Tshering had placed the request for the reservation of seats before Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"The Consul General had met the chief minister and requested for allocation of MBBS seats. Sarma had asked Tshering to place the request in a written form," the official said.

Subsequently, the Consul General placed the request in a written form with the request, which later was pursued by the Chief Minister, the official added.

He also stated that there are issues of mutual interest which will be discussed in coming future for a long run relationship between both the sides.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Assam government took the decision a fortnight ago to consider two MBBS seats with full scholarships for Bhutanese candidates, subject to approval by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India and clearance from the External Affairs Ministry.

According to the Assam government's plan, both seats would be allotted from the Central pool of MBBS seats at the state's medical institutions, he added.

In his twitter, Chief Minister Himanta Sarma stated Delighted to meet Mr. Phub Tshering, Consul General of Bhutan, in Guwahati. We stand committed to upholding the bonhomie between Assam and Bhutan."

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