Royal Bhutan Army’s Chief Operations Officer concludes India visit reinforcing bilateral military cooperation

The Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army, Lieutenant General Batoo Tshering’s visit to India concluded on Thursday.

The Indian Army said that this visit has reinforced bilateral military cooperation, explored new avenues for defence cooperation and reaffirmed the enduring bond between armies of two nations.

In a statement shared on X, Indian Army said that India and Bhutan share a “deep rooted friendship” based on historical ties, mutual respect and cultural affinity.

Lieutenant General Tshering was on a six-day visit to India from February 1-6.

“Strengthening #Indo_Bhutan Friendship The visit of high-level delegation led by Lieutenent General Batoo Tshering, Chief Operations Officer, #COO of the Royal Bhutan Army has successfully concluded today. This visit reinforced bilateral military cooperation, explored new avenues for defence collaboration and reaffirmed the enduring bond between both the Armies. India and Bhutan share a deep-rooted friendship built on historical ties, cultural affinity and mutual respect. Their partnership reflects a bond of trust and cooperation that has strengthened over the decades,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army posted on X.

Earlier in the day, Lieutenant General Batoo Tshering laid a wreath at the Vijay Smarak memorial at the Vijay Durg Eastern Command Army Headquarters in Kolkata. The ceremony took place in the presence of Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command.

On February 4, Batoo Tshering called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and held discussions encompassing a variety of issues on bilateral relations.

During the talks, Singh reaffirmed India’s readiness to support Bhutan in capability enhancement for defence preparedness, including provisioning of defence equipment and assets to augment capacities of Bhutan, as per its national priorities and in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

Tshering appreciated Government of India’s continued support and thanked India in assisting Bhutan in augmenting its modern defence capacities and training of RBA. He also reaffirmed Royal Bhutan Army’s firm commitment to work closely with India in realising the shared vision for peace and prosperity in the region.India and Bhutan share a long history of diplomatic and defence cooperation.

India and Bhutan share unique and exemplary bilateral relations, which are based on mutual trust, goodwill and understanding. Formal diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968, according to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The basic framework of India Bhutan relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries, which was renewed in February 2007. The unique bilateral ties characterized by mutual trust and understanding, have been advanced by regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.