Wangchuck’s visit to India comes amid renewed efforts by Bhutan and China for an early resolution of their decades-old border dispute.
India is keeping a close eye on talks on the border dispute between Bhutan and China as it could affect India’s security interests, especially in the ‘Doklam Tri-Junction’ area.
Wangchuck’s eight-day visit to India began on November 3 from Guwahati. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform ‘X’, “His Majesty the King of Bhutan was warmly welcomed by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on his arrival in New Delhi. His Majesty is on an official visit to India. He said, “This visit is an important partnership. will further strengthen the close ties of friendship and cooperation.”
King of Bhutan to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on November 2 that the visit of the King of Bhutan will provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire dimension of bilateral cooperation and to further enhance bilateral partnership in various fields.
Last month, Bhutanese Foreign Minister Thandi Dorjee held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing. A message issued by China after the talks said Bhutan supports the One-China principle and is ready to work with China for an early resolution of the border issue and advance the political process of establishing diplomatic relations.
China and Bhutan agreed in August to take swift action to implement a ‘three-step framework’ to resolve their border dispute. In October 2021, Bhutan and China signed an agreement on a ‘three-phase framework’ to accelerate negotiations to resolve their border dispute.
China signed an agreement with Bhutan four years after the Doklam standoff with India. The standoff with India at Doklam began when China tried to extend the road to territory claimed by Bhutan. The clash between Indian and Chinese armies was going on for 73 days in Doklam.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by the NDTV team and is published directly from the syndicate feed.)