New Delhi, Nov. 15 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhutan this week-his fourth since 2014 and one timed to honour the 70th birthday of the country's fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck-underscored the sincerity of India's Neighbourhood First policy, particularly at a moment when its eastern flank remains unsettled.

As India grapples with an increasingly hostile neighbourhood, the Himalayan kingdom stands out as a textbook model of good neighbourliness-and as a prime example of how a smaller nation can navigate relations with a larger one through trust and transparency.

The two nations have long shared warm and friendly ties that span religion and culture-through the shared bond of Buddhism-to currency, with Bhutan's ngultrum ...