Deep-rooted friendship: Assam looking forward to welcome Bhutan King

Guwahati:  The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will arrive in Guwahati on Friday on a three-day visit to Assam.

During his visit, King will attend various programmes in Guwahati and also visit Kamakhya temple and Kaziranga National Park.

“After spending the first day in Guwahati with various engagements, he will go to Kaziranga on Saturday. The king will spend a night there too and then proceed to New Delhi from Jorhat on Sunday for the next leg of India trip,” said Dasho Tsering Wangda, vice-president of Bhutan India Friendship Association.

Mentioning the friendly relations between India and Bhutan for centuries, Wangda said there was a “brief period of unease” due to insurgency problems in Northeast India.

The king and his entourage will arrive at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati by a special flight on Friday forenoon.

He will first visit Kamakhya temple atop Nilachal hill in Guwahati and then hold interactions with people of the Bhutanese community at Radisson Blu Hotel, where the monarch will also be staying.

The king will be attending a dinner hosted by Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in his honour on Friday and fly to Jorhat the next morning for a Kaziranga National Park visit.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the people of Assam are eagerly looking forward to welcoming the king on his first visit to the state.

Assam, which shares a 267 km boundary with Bhutan, shares a unique relationship with the neighboring country.

There is a deep-rooted friendship between Bhutan and Assam. The historic visit of the Bhutanese King to Assam is a testament to the deep-rooted friendship between the two countries. Historically, Bhutanese kings traveled to Royal Manas National Park via Barpeta Road in Assam.

The Kings of Bhutan would often travel to Royal Manas National Park for recreational purposes. The park is home to a variety of wildlife, including tigers, leopards and elephants.

The visit is expected to further strengthen the ties between Bhutan and Assam and foster a brighter and more harmonious future for the entire region.

The people of Bhutan and Assam have long traded and interacted with each other.  In the past, Bhutanese merchants often traveled to Assam to sell their goods.

As a goodwill gesture ahead of the monarch’s visit to the state, the Assam Cabinet on Wednesday approved the reservation of seats for Bhutanese nationals in medical colleges in Assam.