As the invitation to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders to attend his swearing-in ceremony marked a new beginning in improving bilateral relations among the neighbours in the region, Prime Minster Narendra Modi, in right earnest, has followed it up with his maiden foreign visit to Bhutan, a peace-loving, spiritually-inclined and trouble-free kingdom. The visit to the Himayalan country, which has given the world its notion of Gross National Happiness for the well-being of people, not for materialistic reasons, struck a note of bonhomie - a fact that can be gauged from the warmth of Bhutanese people bestowed on the visiting dignitary. Having started off with Bhutan, if Modi could pay such friendly visits to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China aiming at bettering ties, one hopes it will fructify in acting as a precursor to ironing out long-standing differences that are a stumbling block not only for establishing people to people contact, but also trade relations between the SAARC nations.
R Prabhu Raj Chennai
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