New Delhi, June 6 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Bhutan this month which will be his first state visit. It is significant that Modi has chosen the Himalayan kingdom for his first visit and not regional heavyweights Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
An official team will be leaving for Thimphu on June 6 to set up the visit and work out the logistics. The visit is planned to take place after the ongoing Parliament session, possibly in the third week of this month, sources said.
The decision was taken over the past few days during which Modi’s tour calendar was being finalised. Largely, the choice was between Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh though Afghanistan also came up for discussion. Bhutan has been among India’s friendliest neighbours and enjoys a close relationship with India.
The visit reflects the importance India attaches to its ties with Bhutan whose Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was among the leaders from the neighbouring countries to attend Modi’s swearing-in on May 26.
After the swearing-in, Modi had held a short duration bilateral meeting with the Bhutanese leader. Modi is also likely to travel to Brazil to participate in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in mid July.
-INDIA TODAY
