The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema, will visit India from 23-30 January. The Bhutanese heads of state are on a state visit as chief guests for India’s Republic Day parade. This is the fourth time since 1954 that a Bhutanese King will be a Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
During his week-long visit, the King of Bhutan will meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the United Progressive Alliance’s Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, among others.
This visit signifies the escalation in already warm relations between India and Bhutan. Incidentally, our Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid was on a state visit to Thimphu from 14-15 January, where expressed the need for India-Bhutan Relations to move from “development partnership to economic partnership.”
New Delhi and Thimphu have always shared robust and peaceful relationship. The India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, signed in 1949 and updated in 2007, forms the basic framework of the bilateral relations. India is Bhutan’s largest trade and development partner, and hydropower forms an important sector of cooperation. According to India’s 10th Five Year Plan, India has committed to assistance of Rs. 3400 crores to Bhutan. Both governments have also set the target of achieving a hydropower capacity of 10,000 Megawatts by 2020.