- Title: BHUTAN: Bhutan welcomes India's Modi with traditional Chibdrel procession
- Date: 15th June 2014
- Summary: THIMPU, BHUTAN (JUNE 15, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF PALACE OF KING JIGME KHESAR NAMGYEL WANGCHUCK BHUTANESE GARBED IN TRADITIONAL ATTIRE PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ON THE ROOF OF THE KING'S PALACE BHUTANESE PLAYING TRADITIONAL PIPES, DUNGCHEN, AND DRUMS A BHUTANESE TRADITIONAL PROCESSION PASSING THROUGH THE STREET BHUTANESE DANCERS PERFORMING TRADITIONAL DANCE ON THE STREET MODI'S MOTORCADE ARRIVING AT THE KING'S PALACE PROCESSION ARRIVING AT THE FORECOURT OF THE PALACE MODI WALKING UP ON STAGE TO RECEIVE THE GUARD OF HONOUR BHUTANESE ARMED FORCES GIVING GUARD OF HONOUR TO MODI MODI STANDING ON THE STAGE / MODI BEING ESCORTED TO THE PALACE AMID TRADITIONAL MUSIC
- Embargoed: 30th June 2014 21:45
- Keywords:
- Location: Bhutan
- Country: Bhutan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA282W27BLGLORQ6YHN60CPSQA8
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (June 15) was welcomed in Bhutan with the customary Chibdrel ceremony during his first visit abroad since taking office.
Modi's visit to Bhutan launches a drive to reassert Indian influence in the region, offering financial and technical help and the lure of a huge market.
As part of tradition, the Chibdrel ceremony, which is believed to bring good fortune to the country and good will with its neighbours, is conducted by the Bhutanese King to honour the visiting head of the state, amid folk music and dance.
Bhutanese dancers, dressed in traditional attire and jewellery, performed folk dances on the streets as they escorted Modi's cavalcade to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck's palace, while musicians played traditional instruments creating a festive atmosphere.
The tiny Buddhist nation, wedged in the Himalayas between India and China, is the closest India has to an ally in South Asia, a region of bristling rivalry where China is making inroads.
On Sunday, Modi will also lay the foundation of a 600 MW hydroelectric power station in Bhutan and inaugurate a parliament building constructed by India.
Modi's Hindu nationalist party has vowed to end the neglect of neighbours and in an unprecedented gesture, he invited all regional leaders to his inauguration last month.
In the longer term, Modi's government aims to make India the dominant foreign investor across South Asia as well as the main provider of infrastructure loans, in the same way China has done in much of the rest of Asia and in Africa.
Consolidating ties with difficult neighbours like Pakistan and Bangladesh could reduce poverty and transform regional security relationships, Indian officials say.
During the visit, Modi is due to hold talks with the Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tobgay; he is also set to address parliament.
Bhutan, the size of Switzerland and with a population of 750,000, has only recently emerged from centuries of isolation.
Its first road was built in 1962 and television and the Internet arrived in 1999.
It is the world's first country to monitor gross national happiness an alternative to gross domestic product, to balance a tentative embrace of modernity with an effort to preserve traditions.
But Bhutan, which made the transition from absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy in 2008, is struggling with high unemployment and a growing national debt.
The government that took power in 2012 says rather than talk about the happiness index, it wants to focus on obstacles to happiness. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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