DHAKA: Newly elected Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will undertake his first visit to Bhutan this month, reported The Indian Express.

It has been reliably learnt that an official team will be leaving for Thimphu on Friday to set up the visit and work out the relevant logistics. 

The visit is planned to take place after the ongoing Parliament session, possibly in the third week.

Sources said the decision was taken over the past few days during which Modi’s tour calender was worked out. 

The choice was largely between Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh though Afghanistan also came up for discussion. Nepal was also on the BJP’s radar given the party’s own equity in that country, which is the only Hindu nation in the world. 

Also, no PM of India has visited Nepal for nearly 13 years and the last proper bilateral visit was in the late 1990s.

But Nepal will be hosting this year’s SAARC Summit and has suggested dates in November, a proposal that is now under circulation. 

Modi, therefore, will get an opportunity to visit Kathmandu soon and honour the invite of the Nepalese PM.

On Bangladesh, sources said, the government still has to make up its mind on crucial agreements like the land boundary settlement, to which the BJP has not extended support and has been under constant pressure from its Assam unit.

Bhutan, on the other hand, has been among India’s friendliest neighbours and enjoys a close inter-dependent relationship with India. 

The country’s economy is closely linked with India and despite pressure from powerful countries, Thimphu has been conscious not to take any decision inimical to Indian interest. 

India and Bhutan have various layers of interaction to coordinate on several fronts including foreign policy position. 

BDST: 2139 HRS, JUNE 5, 2014