Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhutan next week, announced the visiting Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay after the two leaders met in Delhi on Thursday night. Mr. Tobgay is on a 5-day visit to India, and expected to return to Thimphu on Monday, after which Mr. Modi will travel there, officials said.
No press statement was made after the meeting, but Prime Minister Modi posted on social media platform “X” that he had “productive discussions encompassing various aspects of [India-Bhutan’s] unique and special partnership” and thanked the King of Bhutan and Prime Minister Tobgay for the invitation to Bhutan next week.
Mr. Tobgay said that he had thanked Mr. Modi for his “steadfast support to Bhutan” during their meeting and confirmed the Prime Minister’s acceptance. “We discussed a range of issues to strengthen relations between Bhutan and India. Prime Minister Modi Ji also agreed to visit Bhutan soon … next week, in fact!” he added.
Model code
The announcement is significant as it not only indicates the strong ties between Bhutan and India, with their Prime Ministers exchanging back-to-back visits, but could cast a shadow on when dates for general elections would be announced. According to the model code of conduct, no major policy decisions can be made after the election dates are declared, and by convention, the Prime Minister doesn’t travel abroad once they are declared. Reports had indicated that the announcement of dates by the Election Commission could come as early as Friday. If they are announced prior to Mr. Modi’s travel, however, officials said that might mean no major agreements would be signed during the visit to Bhutan.
Mr. Tobgay is in India on his first international visit after winning elections in January this year. During his visit to Delhi, where he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and is due to meet Ministers of Finance, Trade and Energy on Friday, and subsequently to Mumbai where he will meet business leaders, Mr. Tobgay is expected to discuss strengthening bilateral trade, raising investment levels in infrastructure projects, and Bhutan’s plans for a mega “Gelephu Mindfulness City [GMC] on Bhutan’s southern border with Assam. India is watching Bhutan-China talks on boundary demarcation closely as well, and talks on the new Bhutanese government’s strategy on the issue are understood to have been part of the agenda.
Ahead of Mr. Tobgay’s visit to Delhi, the Cabinet cleared two agreements on Wednesday, including an MoU between India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Bhutan’s Department of Energy for cooperation on energy conservation and standardisation of climate change mechanisms. The Cabinet also approved an agreement between the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for cooperation in food safety so as to facilitate more trade between the two neighbours.
In a post welcoming the Bhutanese Prime Minister, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said his visit demonstrated the “exemplary” ties between India and Bhutan.
