The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema, will visit India from January 6-10.
During his visit, the King of Bhutan will meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the United Progressive Alliance’s Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, among other senior officials.
This visit signifies the strengthening of the already warm relations between India and Bhutan.
New Delhi and Thimphu have always shared a 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. Bilateral ties suffered a hiccup after India announced cancellation of subsidy on cooking gas and kerosene to Bhutan in June last year.