Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk’s eight-day India tour, which began with a three-day visit to Assam on Friday, is very important not just for the region but for the entire country. India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterised by understanding and mutual trust. The king’s visit would provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and further advance the exemplary bilateral partnership across diverse sectors. Bhutan, in fact, is one of the most trusted neighbours of India. The Ministry of External Affairs has already described this visit of the Bhutanese king as one that offers opportunities to both countries to “advance an exemplary bilateral partnership” in the years to come. His eight-day itinerary also includes New Delhi, during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, among others. What is also significant is that the Bhutan king’s visit to India comes exactly four weeks after Bhutan and China held the 25th round of boundary talks between Thimphu and Beijing, when both countries had also signed an agreement of cooperation on the China-Bhutan boundary. Bhutan has a total international boundary of 1176 km. Of this, 699 km are with India, and the remaining 477 km are with China. The Bhutan-India boundary is again shared by four Indian states, these being Assam (267 km), Arunachal Pradesh (217 km), West Bengal (183 km), and Sikkim (32 km). The people of Bhutan have had a very long relationship with the people of Assam. This relationship is cultural, political, as well as socio-economic. Given this backdrop, there should be more discussion about Bhutan in Assam so that people on both sides of the international border can reap the best harvest of this age-old relationship. What is most significant is that the visit of the Bhutanese king to Assam is the first-ever visit of a head of state to this state. Thus, this opens up the scope for heads of other states to visit Assam. A few years ago, the then-Prime Minister of Japan was scheduled to visit Assam. But, unfortunately, that visit had to be cancelled due to an unfortunate, sudden law and order situation. Being a Himalayan kingdom that is physically small with limited economic dimensions and military might, it is the bounden duty of India to extend all kinds of support to Bhutan. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and West Bengal in particular should have an exclusive department each for handling Bhutan affairs, including organising vital local neighbourly support and cooperation. This message should also trickle down to the communities living in those districts of the four states, so that the local people do not look at the Bhutanese as strangers but as real, good, most trusted neighbours. Colleges and universities in these four states should have exclusive quotas for students from Bhutan. Likewise, there should be a series of exchange programmes between people from both sides throughout the year.