SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SMT. PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE BANQUET HOSTED BY THE KING OF BHUTAN ON HIS CORONATION DAY

New Delhi, 6th November 2008

Your Majesties,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me profound pleasure to extend our felicitations and greetings to Your Majesty on this auspicious occasion. I feel privileged and deeply honoured to be here today to rejoice with the people of Bhutan the Coronation of their beloved King and to join them in celebrating a hundred years of the Wangchuck Dynasty. I am deeply moved by the warmth with which we have been received in your beautiful country.

Your Majesty, I thank you for the honour that you have extended to my country. The people of India have the highest admiration for Your Majesty, for the statesmanship and wisdom with which you have presided over the affairs of your country, ever since that historic moment two years ago when His Majesty, your father, placed his Royal responsibilities on your shoulders.

It has been 34 years since Bhutan and the world witnessed the coronation of a King of Bhutan. Today, we see once more, on this historic day, that solemn reverence and respect that the people of Bhutan hold for their King and the colour and gaiety with which they are celebrating this joyous moment in your country's history. The enlightened reign of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, saw unprecedented social and economic development. His vision of economic self-reliance and of maximizing the Gross National Happiness of his people has caught the imagination of the world. Indeed in a holistic approach encompassing economic, social, environmental and cultural enhancement lie the keys to national strength, stability and prosperity.

Bhutan today has emerged as the youngest democracy in the world. It is a political transformation that is unprecedented in history. It reflects Your Majesty's abiding faith in your people, a people who look to Your Majesty for inspiration, guidance and support in translating their dreams into reality.

India is proud of its exemplary relations with Bhutan, a saga of fifty years since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, visited your country in 1958. Today, and over the coming years and decades, we will continue to realize the rich potential of our bilateral relationship. The well-being, stability and progress of Bhutan are central to our vision for our bilateral relations.

I am sure that I articulate the sentiments of all of us gathered here and of the people of India, in assuring Your Majesty of our wholehearted support as you assume the Kingship of Bhutan, in a new and exciting phase of your country's history.

Your Majesty, we wish you a long and fruitful reign, the very best in health and all happiness.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, may I now invite you to join me in a toast:

- To the health and happiness of His Majesty the King.

- To the well-being and prosperity of the people of Bhutan.

- To goodwill and peace in our region and in the world.