Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon will visit Bhutan from August 8 to 11, to hold talks with the newly elected leadership in Thimphu.
During this three-day visit, Singh and Menon will meet King Jigme Wangchuk Bhutanese Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay, Bhutanese Foreign Minister Rinzin Dorje, and the Bhutanese Leader of the Opposition, Pema Gyamtsho.
This will be Singh’s first visit abroad after assuming office on August 1, and in line with her statement regarding giving priority to India’s neighbourhood.
New Delhi and Thimphu have always shared robust and peaceful relationship. The India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, signed in 1949 and updated in 2007, forms the basic framework of the bilateral relations. India is Bhutan’s largest trade and development partner, and hydropower forms an important sector of cooperation. The King and Queen of Bhutan were the chief guests for India’s Republic Day parade this year, and there have been numerous high level bilateral visits between the two nations this year.