(TH)
A day ahead of his planned departure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put off his visit to Bhutan due to “inclement weather”, an announcement made simultaneously by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Bhutanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday evening. The visit is being rescheduled, although no dates were given. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to land in Paro, Bhutan’s only international airport at present, and travel to the capital Thimphu on Thursday morning, and return by the same route on Friday morning. However, with heavy rain and possible snowfall in Paro predicted to continue on Thursday, officials said the visit had to be postponed.
“Due to ongoing inclement weather conditions over Paro airport, it has been mutually decided to postpone the State visit of Prime Minister to Bhutan on 21-22 March 2024. New dates are being worked out by the two sides through diplomatic channels,” the statements said. Reports on the uncertainty over the visit grew a few hours prior to the announcement, when a press conference to be held by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Wednesday afternoon was suddenly cancelled.
