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As Bhutan Border Talks With China Draw to an End, Indian Diplomat Visits Buddhist Nation

© Photo : Twitter/ @Sudhakar DalelaIndian officials in Bhutan on January 20, 2023
Indian officials in Bhutan on January 20, 2023 - Sputnik India, 1920, 20.01.2023
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India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra visited the country after having been invited by his opposite number Pema Choden.
India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra on Friday concluded a "productive" two-day visit to Bhutan, the Indian ambassador to the Buddhist country Sudhakar Dalela confirmed in a tweet.
During the visit, Kawatra met Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchen Lotay Tshering, and Foreign Minister Lyonpo Tandi Dorji, and held talks with his opposite number Pema Choden.
© Photo : TwitterIndia's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra with Bhutanese and Indian embassy officials
India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra with Bhutanese and Indian embassy officials  - Sputnik India, 1920, 20.01.2023
India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra with Bhutanese and Indian embassy officials
The visit came just four days after the top Bhutanese diplomats visited China and decided to push forward with boundary negotiations.

"Had an in-depth exchange of views on implementing the MOU on the Three-Step Roadmap for Expediting the China-Bhutan Boundary Negotiations, and reached positive consensus," China and Bhutan stated in a statement released after the talks.

In October 2021, Bhutan and China agreed on a "three-step roadmap" to expedite negotiations to resolve their boundary dispute.

What is Border Dispute Between China & Bhutan All About?

Bhutan and China share a border of more than 400km, and the two sides have held more than two dozen talks since the process began in 1984.
China is allegedly eyeing Bhutan's Jampheri Ridge, a geographically important location just 500 meters from the Siliguri Corridor. Also known as India's Chicken Neck, the Siliguri Corridor is a 60km land corridor between Bhutan in the north and Bangladesh in the south and connects India to the north-east region.
At present the Bhutanese Army guards the ridge.
The Jampheri Ridge lies just south of the Doklam (Doka La) plateau, near the delta where India, Bhutan and China meet. It was the flashpoint of the 73-day face-off between India and China in 2017 after Bhutan accused China of unilaterally attempting to change the status quo in the Doklam area of the Bhutan-Tibet border.
According to a 1949 treaty between Bhutan and India, New Delhi should guide Thimpu on foreign policy and defense matters.

China is eyeing around 700km of Bhutanese territory, including the strategically located area around the Doklam Plateau. Beijing has offered to forego its territorial claims in other parts of Bhutan for control over Doklam, a proposition rejected by India.

Last July, satellite imagery revealed that China had built several village settlements near the Doklam area that align southwards towards the Jampheri Ridge.
In December, Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in a face-off in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, a north-eastern state of India. The Sakteng Sanctuary borders the Tawang district.

India-Bhutan Ties

Apart from bilateral talks, India's and Bhutan's foreign secretaries also co-chaired the India-Bhutan development cooperation talks on the 12th Five-Year plan, energy cooperation, technology, trade and economic ties, and people-to-people contacts, a press release issued by the Bhutanese side reads.
© Photo : TwitterIndia's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra's met the Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhen Lotay Tshering,
India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra's met the Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhen Lotay Tshering, - Sputnik India, 1920, 20.01.2023
India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra's met the Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhen Lotay Tshering,
The 12th Five-Year plan is part of India's economical for the Himalayan country's socio-economic development, which began in the Sixties.
India continues to be Bhutan's principal development partner, and its contribution of INR45Bln for the 12th Five-Year plan constitutes 73 percent of Bhutan's total external grant component.
Both foreign secretaries also co-chaired the 4th India-Bhutan development cooperation talks.
Kawatra also met the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchen Lotay Tshering, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Lyonpo Tandi Dorji.
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