PM holds talks with Bhutan King; focus on bilateral ties, issues of national interest

Source: The post is based on the article “PM holds talks with Bhutan King; focus on bilateral ties, issues of national interest” published in The Hindu on 5th April 2023

What is the News?

The Indian Prime Minister held talks with the Bhutanese King focusing on ways to bolster bilateral engagement in a range of areas including economic cooperation.

What are the key highlights from the meeting?

On Doklam issue: India has said that it is closely following developments on the Doklam issue that have a bearing on its national interest and would take all necessary measures to safeguard them.

– Note: In a recent interview, Bhutan’s Prime Minister said that China had an equal say in resolving the border dispute in Doklam. The remarks on the Doklam tri-junction were seen by many as Bhutan cosying up to China though Bhutan maintained that there was no change in its stance on the border dispute.

Economic Ties: India has agreed to provide relevant financial support for Bhutan’s 13th five-year plan and its reform projects. 

– Note: Bhutan is set to graduate from the list of Least Developed Countries in 2023, and its 21st-century Economic Roadmap aims to turn the Himalayan kingdom into a developed country with a per-capita income of $12,000 in the next 10 years.

Hydropower: India has agreed to a long pending demand from Bhutan to increase the power tariffs for the Chhukha hydro-electric project, which began operations with India’s help in 1986.

– India has also agreed to discuss buying power from the Basochhu hydel project that was built with Austrian support in 2008.

– The two sides would also try to expedite the long pending negotiations on the reservoir-based 2,500 MW Sankosh hydel project which has been stuck for decades over environmental and cost concerns.

Integrated check post: India is examining the possibility of setting up the first Integrated Check Post along the India-Bhutan border at Jaigaon and expediting the proposed Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link project.