Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

This is the kingdom’s first diplomatic foray in seven years; India says Germany is important partner . Bhutan’s Ambassador to India Major General Vetsop Namgyel, right, and Germany’s Ambassador Walter Lindner in New Delhi on Wednesday. CONTEXT Bhutan has announced that it had established diplomatic relations with Germany, increasing the restricted number of capitals that Thimphu has formal ties with to 53 states and the EU.  This is the kingdom’s first diplomatic foray in seven years. BACKGROUND Until 2007, when Bhutan conducted its first election, it had formal relations with just 22 countries, mostly donor countries such as Japan, Australia and several Nordic countries. It also made a firm decision not to open ties with any of the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, despite many requests from them and in particular from the U.S. and China.  After the election of Prime Minister Jigme Thinley in 2008, however, the Bhutanese government rapidly increased its ...