EAM Jaishankar to visit Bhutan today; hold talks with counterpart Dhungyel

The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Bhutan, and to further strengthen the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries

External affairs minister S Jaishankar is visiting Bhutan during September 16-17 for talks with his counterpart DN Dhungyel to review bilateral ties.

Besides holding talks with Bhutan’s foreign minister, Jaishankar will also meet Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday.

The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Bhutan, and to further strengthen the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said.

Jaishankar’s visit follows a trip to Bhutan by foreign secretary Vikram Misri in July, when the Exim Bank of India and Bhutan’s finance ministry signed an agreement for a concessional line of credit worth ₹4,000 crore.

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Misri had travelled to Bhutan following a visit to China, and he co-chaired the India-Bhutan development cooperation talks focused on the Himalayan nation’s 13th five-year plan.

India provides most of the funding for Bhutan’s five-year plans and has committed ₹10,000 crore for the 13th five-year plan covering 2024-2029. The Indian government has also provided ₹750 crore for Bhutan’s Economic Stimulus Programme and ₹100 crore as a programme grant.

Last year, India announced it will build the first two cross-border railway links with Bhutan at a cost of ₹ 4,033 crore, with the project being seen as part of New Delhi’s efforts to bolster regional connectivity to drive economic integration and trade.

Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More