Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will pay a three-day visit to India beginning Monday to expand the already close bilateral engagement, especially in the sphere of economic and development cooperation.
The King will hold talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wangchuck will be accompanied by Tandi Dorji, Bhutanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and senior officials of the Royal government of Bhutan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing the visit.
“At the invitation of the President of India Droupadi Murmu, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be on an official visit to India from April 3 to 5,” the MEA said.
It said the visit of the King is in keeping with the long standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.
“India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust,” the MEA said in a statement.
“The visit would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation,” it said.
Bhutan is a strategically important country for India and the defence and security ties between the two sides have witnessed significant expansion in the last few years.
The Doklam plateau is considered an important area for India’s strategic interest.
The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a 73-day stand-off at the Doklam tri-junction in 2017 after China tried to extend a road in an area that Bhutan claimed belonged to it.
India had strongly opposed the construction as it would have impacted its overall security interests. The India-China face-off was resolved following several rounds of talks.
In October 2021, Bhutan and China signed an agreement on a “three-step roadmap” to expedite negotiations to resolve their festering boundary dispute.
Bhutan shares an over 400-km-long border with China and the two countries have held over 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the dispute.
The King of Bhutan had a transit visit to Delhi in September last year.
India sent special assistance to Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first country to receive Covishield vaccines from India. India has been providing assistance to Bhutan for implementation of its successive ‘Five Year Plans’ since 1961.
India’s assistance towards Bhutan’s XII five-year-plan (2018-23) was Rs 4500 crore for various multi-sectoral projects, small development projects and direct budgetary support.
There has been significant cooperation between the two sides in the area of hydro-power projects.
India has consistently been Bhutan’s top trading partner, and remains the leading source of investments in Bhutan.
In November 2021, India formalised the opening of seven new trade routes for Bhutan’s bilateral and transit trade with India, new market access was provided for allowing formal export of 12 agri-products from Bhutan to India, and various special exceptions/ quotas for export are also provided.
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