New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day state visit to Bhutan starting on Thursday has been put on hold on account of inclement weather over Paro International Airport, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday.
"Due to ongoing inclement weather conditions over Paro airport, it has been mutually decided to postpone the State visit of Prime Minister to Bhutan on 21-22 March 2024. New dates are being worked out by the two sides through diplomatic channels," the MEA said in a brief statement.
The PM's visit was scheduled weeks before India votes in the Lok Sabha elections and also on the heels of the recently concluded visit of the Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay.
Foreign policy experts were closely watching the visit given the crucial moment it was happening and the fact that India has a multidimensional relationship with Bhutan.
Earlier speaking to ETV Bharat, Smruti Pattanaik, research fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, called the visit important in the context of Bhutan relying on India for funding its 13th five-year plan and to deal with the economic challenges that the Himalayan nation is facing.
Pattanaik said during the visit, if and when it happens, the issue of China's pressure on Bhutan over the Doklam plateau could be discussed.
"The visit of the PM indicates further collaboration because Bhutan is also the recipient of the development funds. Among the development funds India gives to its neighbours, Bhutan gets the largest chunk, which signifies why the India-Bhutan relationship is significant in the changing geopolitical scenario," she said.
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