{"id":34233,"date":"2018-10-30T16:26:43","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34233"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:26:43","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:56:43","slug":"india-bhutan-security-indivisible-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-bhutan-security-indivisible-president\/","title":{"rendered":"India, Bhutan security indivisible: President:"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/tp-national\/india-bhutan-security-indivisible-president\/article19964624.ece\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India, Bhutan security indivisible: President<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Context<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President Ram Nath Kovind said that the <\/span><b>security of India and Bhutan is \u201cindivisible and mutual\u201d,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> indicating a closer engagement between India and Bhutan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Token of Thanks<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President conveyed deep appreciation for the <\/span><b>King of Bhutan\u2019s personal involvement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and guidance and the support provided by Bhutan in addressing the <\/span><b>recent situation in the Doklam area<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mr Kovind added that the manner in which both India and Bhutan stood together to address the situation in the Doklam area is a <\/span><b>clear testimony to India \u2013 Bhutan\u2019s friendship<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Significance<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Rashtrapati Bhavan statement is significant as <\/span><b>it seeks to end speculation over India\u2019s decision to send troops into land caught in a dispute between Bhutan and China.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The visit by the Royal couple to Delhi is being seen as not just <\/span><b>a personal one<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but one <\/span><b>that signals a tacit endorsement of India\u2019s actions during the Doklam crisis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as a <\/span><b>reaffirmation of ties<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>A Brief History of India Bhutan Relations<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and Bhutan share cordial relations. It is based on a shared cultural heritage from historical past<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As quoted by our Honble Prime Minister, India Bhutan relationship is like \u2018<\/span><b>milk and water<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018. They cannot be separated<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bhutan signed a treaty with British India in 1910. According to this treaty, the British guided the defence and foreign affairs of Bhutan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bhutan was the first country to recognize India\u2019s independence in 1947<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>India Bhutan Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was signed in 1949. This treaty was updated in 2007.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diplomatic relations between the two countries were officially established in 1968 after the appointment of a Indian representative as a resident in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India Bhutan Trade and Commerce Agreement was signed in 1972. It provided for free trade and commerce between the two countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Areas of Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Diplomatic Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regular visits between highest level Government functionaries of both the countries have become a tradition. \u00a0For example, in 2014, our Prime Minister chose Bhutan as his first country to visit after getting elected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India sends foreign service officers to Bhutan to maintain good diplomatic relations<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Security Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Border relationship between India and Bhutan has remained very peaceful. There are no outstanding border disputes between the two countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both the countries have conducted joint military operation against insurgents. The most notable was in 2004, the Royal Bhutanese army conducted operations against ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Economic Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The currency of Bhutan is Indian Rupees<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India remains the single largest trading partner of Bhutan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2016 a new trade agreement was signed. This agreement aims at cutting down the documentation related to trade and establishing additional trading points in Bhutan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has provided large scale financial assistance to Bhutan for its Five Year Plans<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the hydropower sector, many hydropower projects in Bhutan has been developed with India\u2019s assistance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India imports around 1540 MW of hydropower from Bhutan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has provided a standby credit facility of Rs 1000 crores to help Bhutan overcome the rupee liquidity crunch.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Cultural and Educational Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India Bhutan foundation was established in 2003 for improving people to people cooperation in the areas of culture, education and environment protection<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has provided scholarships for Bhutanese students studying in Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in Indian institutions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Environment Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is considering to involve Bhutan in National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayas. The project aims at protecting the Himalayan ecosystem that has been endangered by numerous ecological problems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Areas of Contentions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Motor Vehicles Agreement that was signed in 2015 involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) was blocked by Bhutan\u2019s upper house citing environmental concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has been occasionally complained by Bhutan for meddling in its internal affairs. For Example, India\u2019s decision to withdraw its subsidies in cooking gas and kerosene in 2013. The timing of the decision was few weeks before general election in Bhutan and was seen as an attempt to influence the election outcome.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bhutan wants to increase its export power tariff to India that is complained for being lesser than its cost of production<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India, Bhutan security indivisible: President: Context The President Ram Nath Kovind said that the security of India and Bhutan is \u201cindivisible and mutual\u201d, indicating a closer engagement between India and Bhutan. Token of Thanks The President conveyed deep appreciation for the King of Bhutan\u2019s personal involvement and guidance and the support provided by Bhutan in&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-bhutan-security-indivisible-president\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">India, Bhutan security indivisible: President:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704793840},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34233\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}