Foreign secretary Vikram Misri to make first foreign visit to Bhutan on Friday

Misri will meet King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, foreign minister DN Dhungyel, and hold talks with his counterpart Pema Choden.

Published on: Jul 18, 2024, 11:48:21 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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The Bhutan-China border negotiations and India’s aid for Bhutan’s development programmes will be at the top of the agenda when foreign secretary Vikram Misri makes his first foreign visit to the Himalayan country this week, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (right) with foreign secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi. (Photo from X)

The external affairs ministry announced that Misri, who took over as foreign secretary on July 15, will make an official visit to Bhutan during July 19-20.

During the visit, Misri will meet King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, foreign minister DN Dhungyel, and hold talks with his counterpart Pema Choden.

The two foreign secretaries will co-chair the bilateral Development Cooperation Talks on Bhutan’s 13th five-year plan, the ministry said.

Indian support forms the mainstay of funding for Bhutan’s five-year plans and New Delhi provided ₹5,000 crore for the 12th plan during 2018-2023. During a visit to Bhutan in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that this aid will be doubled to ₹10,000 crore for the next five years.

The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that Misri’s visit will be an opportunity for Bhutan to brief the Indian side on the latest developments in the country’s discussions with China to resolve a long-standing border dispute.

The previous Bhutan government headed by Lotay Tshering was reportedly close to finalising a border deal with China that could have had implications for the strategic Doklam tri-junction, a region located close to the “chicken’s neck”, the thin sliver of land that connects India’s sensitive northeastern states to the rest of the country.

The current People’s Democratic Party government in Bhutan, which won the election in January, is understood to have taken a fresh approach to the border negotiations.

Misri’s visit is “in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges” and underscores the “highest priority” that the Indian government attaches to its “Neighbourhood First” policy, the external affairs ministry said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More