Modi arrives in Bhutan on two-day visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on a two-day official to Bhutan on Sunday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft carrying Prime Minister Modi landed at Paro Airport, about 52 kilometers from Bhutan's capital Thimphu.

Modi was received by Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, members of his cabinet and senior Bhutanese and Indian Embassy officials. He was presented with a bouquet of flowers after coming down from the aircraft.

Thereafter, the Indian Prime Minister reviewed a ceremonial guard of honour and was introduced to members of the Bhutanese Cabinet by Prime Minister Tobgay.

Earlier, in a statement released before his departure for Bhutan, Modi said India and Bhutan are bound by common interests and shared prosperity, and therefore, nurturing relations with that country would be a key foreign policy priority of his government.

In a statement released ahead of his departure for Bhutan on a two-day official visit, Modi said he was looking forward to his first-ever visit as head of government to Bhutan, and to nurturing and further strengthening the special relations that existed between the two nations.

"India and Bhutan enjoy a unique and special relationship, which has been forged by ties of geography, history and culture. Therefore, Bhutan as the destination for my first visit abroad as Prime Minister, is a natural choice. Relations with Bhutan will be a key foreign policy priority of my government," the Prime Minister said.

He said that during his visit, he would have the opportunity to hold detailed discussions with the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, and Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay on the entire gamut of bilateral relations.

He also described Bhutan's peaceful and smooth transition to a democratic constitutional monarchy as a success story.

"Its (Bhutan's) orderly conduct of elections is testimony to the consolidation of its democracy, in accordance with the wise vision of Their Majesties," Modi said.

He also said that during his visit, he would be addressing the joint session of the Parliament of Bhutan, which described as an honour.

He described India as a "privileged and leading partner of Bhutan", and added that New Delhi is committed to continuing its unstinted support for Bhutan's socio-economic development.

Modi said: "We rejoice in Bhutan's remarkable economic growth and its progress and prosperity."

"We are committed to continuing our unstinted support to Bhutan in its development efforts. I will review with the Bhutanese leadership our development cooperation programme to make it even more effective and responsive to the changing aspirations of the people of Bhutan. I will also inaugurate one of our assistance projects during this visit, i.e., the building of the Supreme Court of Bhutan," he added.

The Prime Minister described India's hydropower cooperation with Bhutan as a classic example of win-win cooperation and a model for the entire region.

"During the visit, we will lay the foundation stone of the 600 MW Kholongchu Hydropower Project," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also described people-to-people contact as an important aspect of Indo-Bhutanese bilateral relations.

"I intend to discuss with the Bhutanese leadership how to further strengthen these contacts between our countries, particularly among the youth. In this regard, the role of educational links will be very important," he said.

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