President Pranab Mukherjee leaves for home after Bhutan visit

THIMPHU: President Pranab Mukherjee today left for home after a state visit to Bhutan during which he held wide-ranging talks with the Bhutanese leadership.

Mukherjee was given a warm send-off at the Paro airport by Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife, as he departed after his two-day visit, the first by an Indian head of state to the Himalayan kingdom in 26 years.

Hundreds of schoolchildren were lined up along the way holding Indian and Bhutanese flags, as Mukherjee travelled by road to the airport which is about 50 kms from the capital Thimphu. The president also stopped and interacted briefly with some children.

During the visit, Mukherjee held talks with the top Bhutanese leadership including the King, and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, covering the entire gamut of bilateral relations between the two neighbours.