| Building
friendship on strong historical ties |
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29
July 2006- Welcoming His Majesty the King to India the President
of India, Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, expressed his admiration for
the Constitutional changes that His Majesty the King had initiated
in Bhutan. When His Majesty the King called on him at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan on July 26 the President expressed his deep satisfaction
with the state of Indo-Bhutan relations and said that it was
important to continue strengthening the relations between the
two countries in the years ahead. |
His
Majesty the King, who is on a working visit to India from July
26 to 31, recalled the strong historical ties of friendship
and understanding between the two countries. His Majesty expressed
Bhutan’s firm commitment to further strengthening the
ties of friendship and cooperation between the two close neighbours.
This week the Chief of Army Staff, General J. J. Singh, the National Security Advisor, Mr. M. K. Narayanan, and the foreign secretary, Mr. Shyam Saran, and other senior Indian leaders called on His Majesty. His Majesty the King called on Mrs. Sonia Gandhi at her residence. The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh, will host a lunch for His Majesty the King on July 29. During the royal visit Bhutan and India extended their agreement on Trade, Commerce, and Transit for another 10 years, signed an agreement on Cooperation in the field of Hydroelectric Power, and a protocol to the agreement on the Tala Hydroelectric project to establish the tariff for the export of power from Bhutan to India. Senior government leaders in India welcomed the royal visit to New Delhi. The external affairs spokesman, Mr. Navtej Sarna, said that it was a very important part of the contact at the highest level between two friendly governments. “It is a further attestation of the importance given by both governments to the political and economic relations underlined by the nature of the agreements signed today,” he said. “They lay the foundation for secure and close economic cooperation over the coming decades.” “Every visit by His Majesty the King to India is a new milestone in the close and friendly ever growing relations between the two countries.” His Majesty is accompanied by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the minister for trade and industry, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, and senior Bhutanese officials. By
Kinley Dorji in New Delhi |
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