The upcoming visit of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will focus on the Border issues between Bhutan and China and India’s commitment and support to Bhutan’s developmental processes. The visit is planned to take place on July 19-20; it will be the first official foreign visit of Misri, who became the Prime Minister of Nepal on July 15.
Foreign Secretary’s Agenda
While in Bhutan, Misri will have an audience with the reigning King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the Prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, and the Foreign minister, DN Dhungyel. Among the topics that will be discussed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan, Pema Choden, is the joint chairmanship of the bilateral Development Cooperation Talks related to the 13th five-year plan of the given country.
Ministry of External Affairs stated that funding is done by India as the country has an important role in financing the five-year plans of Bhutan, the grant for the 12th plan (2018-2023) being ₹5000 crores. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March stated that it would increase this aid to ₹ 10000 crore for the coming five years.
Border Negotiations
Misri’s visit takes on a rather important dimension in the backdrop of current Bhutan-China border negotiations. Some sources close to the matter said that for the Bhutanese leadership, the visit is an opportunity to brief India on the more recent events that transpired in the latter’s dispute with China over the strategic trijunction at Doklam near Bhutan’s Indian states.
Earlier, it was under the leadership of the Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, about which it was said that Bhutan was close to signing a border agreement with China, possibly affecting the Doklam area important for India’s connectivity to the northeast region. The incumbent government of Bhutan is under the People’s Democratic Party, and it has unleased a Brand New process of negotiations on these issues.
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