the fifth king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s visit to India This episode had both subtext and subtext. After talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Draupadi Murmu, the joint statement has mentioned in detail the cooperation in many areas. India has agreed to support Bhutan’s further development plans and extend an additional standby line of credit. Hydropower, the “cornerstone” of India-Bhutan relations, also received a boost, with the government agreeing to consider Bhutanese requests to expedite long-delayed projects (Sankosh and Punatsangchu), raising tariffs on Chukha, the oldest project. Electricity from Basochu power project to be modified and purchased towards. New infrastructure projects include an integrated checkpoint for trucks at Jaigaon, a checkpoint for third country nationals and a cross-border rail link from Kokrajhar to Gelephu. Future partnerships could include space research, skills, startup and STEM education, and a new internet gateway for Bhutan, in keeping with the new “Transform Initiative” of the King of Bhutan. The Bhutanese government is also concerned about the number of Bhutanese migrating abroad as youth unemployment reached 21% in 2021. India also needs to pay more attention to this brain drain, as in the past, Bhutan’s elite would have been educated in India. India stands to lose its edge in Bhutanese policy making and public narrative, and thus the mentioned projects benefit Delhi and Thimphu in retaining talent.
However, this is the essence of the visit – a sign of progress in progress following recent comments by Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering China-Bhutan Boundary Talks – this should be a cause for concern. In an interview to a European newspaper, he said that Bhutan and China expect to agree on the demarcation of their northern border dispute in the next “1-2 meetings”. This should raise alarm bells as China has offered this demarcation as part of a “package deal” with Doklam, the area near the tri-junction with India, and its strategic proximity to India’s Siliguri Corridor sensitive in view of While Bhutan is clear that all talks regarding the trijunction will be “trilateral”, India’s concern is any change in the region around it, hence the need for complete clarity on the issue. New Delhi should not allow hyper-nationalism and its animosity with China to put pressure on Bhutan. India’s time-tested relations with Bhutan are based on viewing each other not as a difference in their size, but as a win-win for both of each country’s prosperity. More importantly, they have always considered the interests of the other before taking any step that might affect their long-standing partnership.