China was increasing closeness, now India called Bhutan King to Delhi for 8 days straight

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan will pay an official visit to India from November 3-10. This comes against the backdrop of reports that China and Bhutan are moving towards an agreement to resolve their disputed border. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Wangchuk will be accompanied by senior officials of the Bhutanese government on the visit. During the visit, the king will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and senior Indian officials. The king will also visit the state of Assam and Maharashtra bordering Bhutan.

The statement said India and Bhutan enjoy unique relations of friendship and cooperation, characterized by understanding and mutual trust. The visit will be an opportunity for both sides to review the scope of bilateral cooperation and “take forward exemplary bilateral partnership in various fields”. The visit comes weeks after China and Bhutan held the 25th round of border talks in Beijing and signed a cooperation agreement on “responsibilities and tasks of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) on the delimitation and demarcation of the Bhutan-China border”. Is.

The two countries held the last round of border talks in 2016 and the new agreement is based on a three-phase roadmap finalized in 2021 to resolve the border issue. The first technical talks on delimitation of the border took place in August, and experts believe it was a sign that Bhutan and China have agreed on the possible alignment of their disputed border. Bhutan’s Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing after border talks with Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong. A cooperation agreement was signed during the talks and both sides have said that they want a border agreement soon.

The speed at which recent talks between Bhutan and China have progressed has surprised observers in New Delhi. People familiar with the matter believe the Bhutan king may use his visit to explain Bhutan’s position on border talks with China to the Indian leadership. Bhutan has been a major beneficiary of India’s Neighborhood First policy and was the largest beneficiary of the country’s external aid in the 2023–24 budget, which was allocated ₹2,400 crore out of the total outlay of ₹5,408 crore as aid to foreign countries. it was done.