King of Bhutan visits India, set to meet PM and President on Tuesday
text_fields
New Delhi: Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on Monday arrived in India for his two-day visit. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar received him at the airport. Tomorrow, the King will meet with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He is here on an invitation from the President.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted, "Warm welcome to India, Your Majesty! His Majesty the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck arrived in India a short while ago. His Majesty was received by EAM @DrSJaishankar at the airport."
India and Bhutan are trading partners with India being Bhutan's leading source of investments In November 2021, India formalised opening seven new trade routes for Bhutan's bilateral and transit trade. This is also aimed at allowing the formal export of 12 agri-products from Bhutan to India.
Bhutan is also a geographically strategic country for India with both nations sharing a border with China. Both sides have seen significant expansion in terms of defence and security ties over the last few years.
In 2017, India and China had a 73-day face-off in the Doklam trijunction. It is an area in Bhutan with a high plateau and a valley that lies between China's Chumbi Valley to the North, Bhutan's Ha District to the east, and India's Sikkim to the West. The standoff began after China tried to extend a road in an area that Bhutan claims to belong to it. India also opposed the construction. It took several rounds of talks to resolve the issue.
In October 2021, Bhutan and China signed an agreement to expedite the negotiations to resolve the boundary dispute. There have been over 24 rounds of talks over boundaries. Bhutan has an over the 400-km-long border with China.
The Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering recently said that China has an equal say in resolving the border dispute in Doklam. "It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem. There are three of us. There is no big or small country, there are three equal countries, each counting for a third. We are ready. As soon as the other two parties are ready too, we can discuss. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us," he told Belgian daily. He was talking about China building villages inside or close to Bhutan's borders. The statement has caused concern in New Delhi. Some speculate that it was a result of Chinese diplomatic efforts.
The King's meetings with Indian leadership are expected to reassure that Bhutan will not make a border agreement with China that will jeopardise India's borders.