“People to people relation is important, government to government relation is good, but it is temporary. Government comes and goes but people remains and bring out durability in relations.” That was the Founder and the Secretary General of the India-Bhutan Friendship Association (IBFA), R N Anil.
“Today is a very special day for us because our first visit to Bhutan was on May 9, 1980. It was exactly 32 years. Since then we have been organising lots of activities between the two countries, people to people contact. We called it tap diplomacy. Nations come closer and have better understanding,” he said while delivering a talk on the 40 years of India–Bhutan Friendship Association at the Royal Institute Management, this afternoon.
R.N Anil said Bhutan is indeed on the threshold of an important moment of transformation. It is slowly leading towards a modern society. He, however, said that modern development should not sway the country’s rich heritage. Traditional values, he said should, be preserved at all cost.
The Secretary General spoke about the friendship between the two countries and shared his experiences working for the Association. He said that Bhutan has been transformed from predominately an agrarian economy to a modern trading economy. While Bhutan is seeing lots of changes, he said the country should always preserve the rich cultural and traditional values.
India-Bhutan Friendship Association was formally launched in 1978.
Meanwhile, the Association is planning to form a joint parliamentary group between the two countries. They are also planning to strengthen the economic relations.
