The Bhutanese Leading the way.
His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Gyaltsuen returned home yesterday, following a successful official visit to India, this week, from January 6 to 10 on invitation of the President of India, Dr Pranab Mukherjee.
Their Majesties were accompanied by Home and Cultural Affairs Minister Lyonpo Damcho Dorji, Foreign Minister Lyonpo Rinzin Dorji, Economic Affairs Minister Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk and other senior officials of the government.
Upon arrival at the Indian capital, New Delhi on Monday, January 6, Their Majesties met Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.
The following day, His Majesty the King also met with Indian Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
On the same day, Their Majesties met the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan who also hosted a dinner in honour of Their Majesties. Present at the dinner were Indian Vice- President, Prime Minister, ministers and senior officials of Government of India and members of the Bhutanese delegation.
On January 8, His Majesty granted audiences to India’s Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Arun Jaitley and other well-wishers and friends of Bhutan.
A foreign ministry press release, earlier during the week, stated that the official visit of His Majesty the King to India will further strengthen the friendship between the governments and the people of the two countries.
It said, “The visit is a part of a well-established tradition of regular exchanges of high-level visits between the leaders of Bhutan and India, which is an important factor in nurturing the excellent relations between the two countries.”
Minjur Dorji
