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Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra arrived in Bhutan's Paro on Wednesday to co-chair the 4th India-Bhutan Development Cooperation talks and hold bilateral consultations with the Bhutanese counterpart.
The Foreign Secretary is on an official visit to Bhutan from January 18-20, the Indian Embassy in Thimphu said in a statement while taking to Twitter. "Welcomed Foreign Secretary @AmbVMKwatra on his arrival at Paro, for an official visit to Bhutan from 18-20 January. He will hold bilateral consultations with Foreign Secretary of Bhutan Aum Pema Choden and co-chair the 4th India-Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks," the official Twitter handle of India in Bhutan tweeted. The Foreign Secretary will also call on the Bhutanese leadership during the visit. "Foreign Secretary Kwatra will also call on the Bhutanese leadership during the visit. The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between, and will provide an opportunity to the two sides to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral ties," the Indian Embassy in Thimphu wrote on Twitter. The basic framework of India-Bhutan bilateral relations was the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries. It called for peace between the two nations and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. The Treaty was revised in 2007. The diplomatic relations were established in 1968 with the establishment of a special office of India in Thimphu. There are a number of institutional and diplomatic mechanisms between India and Bhutan in areas such as security, border management, trade, transit, economic, hydro-power, development cooperation, water resources etc. Bhutan shares its border with four Indian states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim with a length of 699 km and serves as a buffer between India and China. The trade between the two countries is governed by the India-Bhutan Trade and Transit Agreement of 1972. India is Bhutan's largest trading partner. India has constructed three Hydroelectric Projects (HEPs) in Bhutan: Chukha HEP, Kurichhu HEP, and Tala HEP, operational and exporting surplus power to India. (ANI)
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