Doklam row backdrop, Bhutan King to meet PM today

While sources said that the visit “has been in the works for some time” and should “not be linked with recent Doklam comments”, the timing of the visit will provide an opportunity to India and Bhutanese officials to exchange notes on this issue.

Wangchuck, who arrived in Delhi Monday, was received by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in what is seen as a special gesture. The King had made a transit visit in September 2022.

Sources said there were a number of other matters to be discussed: hydro-power cooperation, economic and trade partnership, space cooperation, scholarships, youth-centric and STEM-based initiatives, and establishment of digital infrastructure.

During a recent trip to Europe, the Bhutan PM had told the Belgian paper La Libre: “Doklam is a junction point between India, China and Bhutan. It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem. We are three. 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 also ready, we can discuss. India and China have problems all along their border. We are therefore waiting to see how they will resolve their differences.”

The comments came amid the boundary talks between Bhutan and China.
Later on Saturday, Prime Minister Tshering told The Bhutanese newspaper that he had said nothing new to La Libre. “I have said nothing new and there is no change in position.”

With the rapid progress being reported between China and Bhutan in the boundary talks in the last couple of years, this controversy attracted attention.

Indian officials, however, maintain that the relationship with Bhutan is a unique one that has been sustained by a tradition of regular high-level visits.

Prime Minister Modi visited Bhutan in August 2019; External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited in 2019 and April 2022; Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra visited in January 2023 while the Bhutan PM visited India in 2018 and 2019; The Bhutan FM visited in 2019; Bhutan FS visited in Aug 2022.

The ties have been close since special assistance was extended during COVID-19 pandemic that included 13 consignments of medical supplies, and Bhutan was the first country to receive Covishield vaccines.

Since the Indian government provides assistance to Bhutan government’s Five Year Plans since 1961, the Indian government’s assistance towards XIIth Five-year-plan (2018-23) is Rs 4,500 Cr for various multi-sectoral Project Tied Assistance, Small Development Projects, Direct Budgetary Support. This will be one of the issues to be discussed during the meetings.

Sources said that hydro-power cooperation provides clean power for India and economic prosperity for Bhutan with a steady stream of revenue, witnessed “positive growth even during the pandemic”. The Indian government’s assistance installed over 2000 MW of capacity with 4 mega hydro projects since the 1980s till date, while 2 are under construction. Sources said that they will discuss how to strengthen the cooperation in this sector.

On the economic & trade Partnership, sources said that India has consistently been Bhutan’s top trading partner, and remains the leading source of investments in Bhutan. In November 2021, the Indian government 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. The two sides will take stock of the progress in this regard during the visit.

Sources said that 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, were also discussed.

Under Financial Cooperation or Integration the first phase of the RuPay project was launched, India’s Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) was also launched in July 2021. The two sides will also review the implementation of the BHIM app in Bhutan.

Since Space Cooperation is a new and promising area of bilateral cooperation, sources said that both PMs had jointly inaugurated the Ground Earth Station of the South Asia Satellite (SAS) in Thimphu in 2019, constructed with the support of ISRO. A 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 Ground Earth Station during visit of Chairman, ISRO. “This is a new sector which needs constant monitoring and the officials will discuss on how to take it forward,” he said.