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India, Bhutan stood together to address Doklam issue: Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said that the standing together of India and Bhutan during the Doklam standoff with…

India, Bhutan stood together to address Doklam issue: Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said that the standing together of India and Bhutan during the Doklam standoff with China was a “clear testimony” of the friendship between the two neighbouring nations.

“India and Bhutan stood together to address the situation in the Doklam area, which is a clear testimony to our friendship,” Kovind said after meeting King Jigme Khesar Wangchuck of Bhutan at the  Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Highlighting that “security concerns of India and Bhutan are indivisible and mutual”, Kovind said the two nations must work towards a model of bilateral cooperation.

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“India and Bhutan should work towards a model of bilateral cooperation, which will be noted by others in the neighbourhood. Our development cooperation has been guided by the priorities set by the Government and people of Bhutan,” Kovind said.

The Bhutanese King along with Queen Jetsun Pema Wangchuk and Prince Jigme Namgyal Wangchuk are on a four-day goodwill visit to India.

Earlier in the day, the Bhutanese royal family met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The visit assumes significance in the wake of the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Doklam region of Bhutan.

Indian and Chinese troops were locked in an over two-month-long standoff at the Doklam plateau in Bhutan.

The crisis, which erupted in June over Chinese moves to build a road in an area claimed by Bhutan, ended in August, with both sides deciding to “disengage” from the face-off point.

While India and Bhutan said that Beijing’s move violated the status quo in the India-Bhutan-China international trijunction, China claimed that it was its territory.

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