PM Modi conferred with Bhutan’s highest civilian honour ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, Bhutan’s highest civilian decoration, by Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the King of the neighbouring Himalayan nation.

Modi was officially accorded the honour in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu on March 22. The Indian prime minister is the first foreign leader to be given the prestigious award, an official release noted.

Bhutan’s King had first announced the decision to award Modi with the civilian honour in December 2021, during the celebrations of Bhutan’s 114th National Day.

What is the Order of the Druk Gyalpo?

“As per ranking and precedence established, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo was instituted as the decoration for lifetime achievement and is the pinnacle of the honour system in Bhutan, taking precedence over all orders, decorations and medals,” the release said.

Why was PM Modi chosen as its recipient?

The award recognises Prime Minister Modi’s contribution to strengthening India-Bhutan friendship and his people centric leadership, the release noted.

The award also “honours India’s rise as a global power under his leadership, and celebrates Bhutan’s special bond with India,” it added.

Modi’s leadership has set India on the “path of transformation”, and that the country’s “moral authority and global influence have grown”.

Modi, in response to being honoured by the Bhutanese government, said the award was an “honour bestowed on the 1.4 billion people of Bharat” and serves as a testament to the special and unique ties between the two countries.

A look at India-Bhutan economic ties

India and Bhutan, seen as natural allies, share a robust economic relationship as well. The India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit – which was first signed in 1972 and revised for the fifth time in 2016 – establishes a free trade regime between the two countries. The agreement also provides for duty free transit of Bhutanese exports to third countries.

Since 2014, India’s bilateral trade with Bhutan has almost tripled from $484 million in 2014-15 to $1,422 million in 2021-22, accounting for about 80% of Bhutan’s overall trade, as per the official data shared by the Indian Embassy in Thimphu.

India’s top exports to Bhutan are petrol and diesel, passenger cars, rice, wood charcoal, cellphones, coke and semi-coke, soya-bean oil, excavators, electric generators and motors, parts for turbines, transport vehicles, and bitumen, among others.