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Bhutan King visiting India, to meet Prez Murmu, PM Modi

The visit of the King of Bhutan is in keeping with the long standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, an official statement said.

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New Delhi: The King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be on an official visit to India from April 3–5, at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu. The visit will help to further advance the close bilateral partnership between the two neighbours.

The Bhutanese King will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji, and senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The visit of the King of Bhutan is in keeping with the long standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, an official statement said.

During the visit, the King of Bhutan will meet with President Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and senior officials will call on the King of Bhutan.

India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust.

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, the statement said.

According to a Bhutanese statement “the visit is a testament to the longstanding and deep-rooted friendship between Bhutan and India, and will further strengthen the close ties between the two countries”.

The India-Bhutan relationship is a unique one that has been sustained by a tradition of regular high level visits between the two countries. (PM Narendra Modi visited Thimphu in August 2019, EAM visited in 2019 and April 2022; FS Vinay Mohan Kwatra visited in January 2023 while HM the King of Bhutan had a transit visit in September 2022; PM Bhutan visited India in 2018, 2019; FM Bhutan visited in 2019; FS Bhutan visited in August 2022, etc.)

India provided special assistance to Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic, including 13 consignments of medical supplies. Bhutan was also the first country to receive Covishield Vaccines.

Government of India Assistance to the Royal Government of Bhutan Five Year Plans since 1961, GoI Assistance towards XII FYP (2018-23) is Rs 4,500 Cr for various multi-sectoral Project Tied Assistance, Small Development Projects, Direct Budgetary Support, etc.

Hydro-power Cooperation, that provides clean power for India and economic prosperity for Bhutan with a steady stream of revenue, witnessed positive growth even during the pandemic. GoI assistance installed over 2,000 MW of capacity with four mega hydro projects since the 1980s till date, while two are under construction.

Economic & Trade Partnership – India has consistently been Bhutan’s top trading partner, and remains the leading source of investments in Bhutan. In November 2021, GoI 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.

Cooperation in newer areas beyond the traditional realms of cooperation such as new STEM-based initiatives, establishment of digital infrastructure such as the Third International Internet Gateway, integration of Bhutan’s DrukRen with India’s National Knowledge Network – a key cooperation in the domain of e-Learning, E-library project complementing Bhutan’s efforts at digital transformation, e-learning, etc.

Under Financial Cooperation/ Integration the first phase of the RuPay project was launched, India’s Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) was also launched in July 2021.

Space Cooperation is a new and promising area of bilateral cooperation. Both PMs jointly inaugurated the Ground Earth Station of the South Asia Satellite (SAS) in Thimphu in 2019, constructed with the support of ISRO. Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bhutan on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space was signed on November 19, 2020 and training of domain experts is underway. The India-Bhutan SAT was launched into space on 26 November 2022 by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Inauguration of the Ground Earth Station was held during the visit of Chairman, ISRO.

Scholarships, cultural cooperation, youth-centric initiatives have also sustained people to people ties.

Meanwhile, Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering has said that he had said nothing new in his statements to the Belgian paper, La Libre, over Doklam and the Bhutan-China boundary talks, and there is also no change in position by Bhutan.

PM Tshering told The Bhutanese, “I have said nothing new and there is no change in position.”

His statement comes after some media outlets “misunderstood, and then went on to misrepresent” the Bhutanese PM’s interview alleging that Bhutan had changed its position on Doklam in the talks and that China was being given a new role. 

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