India, Bhutan

Bhutan was also the first foreign port of call for Modi after he took over as prime minister in May 2014, visiting the country the following month.

“India’s ties with Bhutan are special and each high-level visit reinforces this,” said another official, and he recalled Modi’s statement that India was happy to the “privileged partner” of the Himalayan country during his first visit there.

In another event this year, India will host the Je Khenpo, the spiritual head of Bhutan who is appointed by the king, to lead a prayer for world peace. The current Je Khenpo, Trulku Jigme Choedra ,is the 70th in the line of succession.The construction of a Bhutan-India friendship stupa is another planned event, but the location of the proposed monument is not yet known.

Officials said India will also step up development assistance to Bhutan this year with the launch of new projects in hydropower and infrastructure and the conclusion of projects that are under construction .

One project where work is in the final stages and is likely to be inaugurated during Modi’s visit is the Mangdechhu hydropower project, a 720-MW run of the river power plant being built on the Mangdechhu river in Trongsa Dzongkhag district of central Bhutan.

So far, the Indian government has constructed three hydroelectric projects in Bhutan with a total capacity of 1,416 MW. The projects are operational and exporting surplus power to India. Hydropower exports provide more than 40% of Bhutan’s domestic revenue, and constitute 25% of its gross domestic product.