 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi with King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, during a meeting, in New Delhi, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (Photo: PTI)")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhutan on November 11-12.
Modi’s visit will coincide with the 70th birthday of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth King of Bhutan (1972-2006) and father of current monarch, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, sources told CNN-News 18.
Modi may also witness the launch of infrastructure projects and take parts in cultural programmes during the visit, according to sources.
India and Bhutan have a close relationship. The kingdom was Modi’s first foreign visit after becoming the Prime Minister of India in 2014.
In recent years, there has been a flurry of high-level visits. Since last year, the King of Bhutan has visited India thrice.
Last year, during Modi’s visit to Bhutan, the King of Bhutan bestowed on him the Order of Druk Gyalpo, the kingdom’s highest honour.
Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has visited India twice this year. In February, he attended the inaugural Leadership Conclave of the School of Ultimate Leadership (SOUL), inaugurated by Modi. He held talks with top government leaders, including Modi, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita.
At the conference, Tobgay said Modi was his “mentor and elder brother”.
Ahead of his second visit in September, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that these back-to-back visits underscore the continuing close cooperation and strengthened ties between India and Bhutan, built on trust, goodwill, and regular high-level exchanges, which it dubbed a hallmark of the special partnership.