Bhutanese royal couple’s visit – reinforcing warmth of ties

By Obja Borah Hazarika

At the invitation of the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the King and the Queen of Bhutan paid an Official Visit to India from 6 to 10 January, 2014. They were accompanied by the Minister of Home Affairs, Lyonpo Damcho Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lyonpo Rinzin Dorji, Minister of Economic Affairs, Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk and senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The King last visited India as the Chief Guest on Republic Day last year.

During the recent visit, they met the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and held discussions on issues of mutual interest.Pointing out that bilateral ties were based on shared strategic perceptions, President Pranab Mukherjee assured Bhutan that India will continue to support capacity-building efforts in the neighbouring country. The President said that the unique and special relations of India and Bhutan are based on utmost trust, goodwill, transparency and sensitivity to each other’s concerns and vital interests. The Bhutanese royal couple were the first guests at the refurbished guest wing of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

During their visit, a host of Indian dignitaries including the Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari; the UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi; the Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram; the Home Minister, Shri Sushilkumar Shinde; the Minister of External Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid, the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Anand Sharma; the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Arun Jaitley; the National Security Adviser, Shri Shivshankar Menon; and the Foreign Secretary, Smt. Sujatha Singh called on the Bhutanese King.

The Bhutanese King held extensive talks with the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. They discussed bilateral, regional and international issues and expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen them. The Bhutanese king conveyed the Bhutanese people’s appreciation for the invaluable support and assistance that the Government of India provides to Bhutan.

India has been the biggest development partner and investor in Bhutan. In the Tenth Five Year plan (2008-2013) the Government of India committed assistance worth Rs 34000 crores to Bhutan. This includes assistance to projects in several sectors including agriculture, ICT, media, health/ hospitals, education/ schools, capacity building, energy, culture and infrastructure. India has been the foremost supporter of Bhutan’s hydropower development assistance. India agreed to provide assistance to Bhutan in developing the hydropower sector and to purchase at least 10,000 MW of power from Bhutan by 2020.

The Joint press release on the official visit of the King of Bhutan to India from 6 – 10 January 2014 stated that in the deliberations held during the visit the Prime Minister of India and other leaders reiterated the continuation of their full commitment and support to Bhutan’s socio-economic development and further development of Bhutan’s hydropower resources.

India and Bhutan have shared a steady and peaceable relationship. The basic framework of the bilateral relations between India and Bhutan is provided by the India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, which was signed in 1949 and updated in 2007.

India continues to be Bhutan’s largest trade and development partner, and hydropower forms one of the most important sector of cooperation. They have maintained close and cordial relations without any major derailing of the relationship. However, bilateral ties suffered a minor hiccup after India announced cancellation of subsidy on petroleum products including cooking gas and kerosene to Bhutan in June 2013, during the first and second rounds of its elections held in 2013, a move some linked to the growing proximity of Bhutan with China.

The subsequent hardship that befell people on account of withdrawal of subsidy is said to have been crucial in the defeat of the incumbent Prime Minister, Jigme Thinley of the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party and subsequent election of Tshering Tobgay, of the Democratic Party, whose first overseas visit post-election was to India which was telling of the kind of importance India holds in Bhutan’s national interest calculations.

India continued to engage with Bhutan at the highest levels even after the subsidy fiasco as evidenced by the fact that newly appointed Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh’s first visit abroad was to Thimphu in August 2013 and she was joined by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon.

The petroleum affair of 2013 was linked to India’s disgruntlement with the growing rapport between Thimphu and Beijing. China’s incursion into the economic space of India’s neighbours is a well known fact. Bhutan has stood out as an anomaly in China’s economic endeavours and engagements with countries surrounding India thus far. However, starting the Rio-2012 summit, when the Premier’s of both nations met for a brief moment, speculations rose about possible diplomatic engagements with each other, which some believed would be pernicious for India strategically. The Bhutan-China border dispute is central to India’s consternation lest it be settled to the detriment of India.

India will continue to play a pivotal role in Bhutan’s development and it has already assured Bhutan of assistance in financing, executing and monitoring in its 11th Five Year Plan in a proficient and effective way and it will also aim to continue to play a pivotal role in Bhutan’s foreign policy, with a special interest of keeping Chinese interests at bay.

India will continue to engage Bhutan in all sectors especially hydropower and commerce and will continue to be its foremost developmental partner in the future given the fact that it has already promised financial aid to the tune of 700 USD in Bhutan’s 11th Five Year Plan.

The latest visit by the Royal couple not only reinforced the tradition of regular high-level exchanges but also helped allay suspicious of any change in India’s engagement with Bhutan. The visit was yet another indication of the desire of both nations to continue to engage each other in a cordial, cooperative and beneficial manner.

Obja Borah Hazarika is an Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science, Dibrugar University and can be contacted at obja11@gmail.com. The article first appeared on South Asia Monitor