India, Bhutan decide to put off PM Modi’s Thimpu visit over bad weather

PM Modi was to travel to Bhutan during March 21-22 for what was expected to be his last foreign visit before the upcoming general election

Published on: Mar 20, 2024, 21:27:42 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI:India and Bhutan decided on Wednesday to postpone a state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Thimphu this week because of bad weather.

Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (L) walking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in New Delhi on April 4, 2023. (AFP FILE PHOTO/PIB)

Modi was scheduled to travel to Bhutan during March 21-22 for what was expected to be his last foreign visit before the upcoming general election.

“Due to ongoing inclement weather conditions over Paro airport, it has been mutually decided to postpone the state visit of Prime Minister to Bhutan on 21-22 March 2024,” the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement on Wednesday.

“New dates are being worked out by the two sides through diplomatic channels,” the statement added.

Modi was set to travel to Bhutan days after his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay’s visit to India during March 14-18. The visit is also in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, the Ministry had said earlier.

Modi was scheduled to meet King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the previous king, and hold talks with Tobgay.

The ministry had said the trip would have been an opportunity for both sides to exchange views on bilateral and regional matters and discuss ways to expand and intensify their “exemplary partnership” for the benefit of the people.

During Tobgay’s visit, Modi said India would step up support for Bhutan’s 13th five-year plan, including considering a request for an economic stimulus programme, and New Delhi’s development aid would be geared towards creating infrastructure and building connectivity.

Indian support forms the mainstay of funding for Bhutan’s five-year plans and New Delhi provided aid worth ₹5,000 crore for the 12th plan.

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