New Delhi: Bhutanese Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji has hoped that the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Dokalam area of the Sikkim sector will be resolved "peacefully and amicably".

During his meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Kathmandu, he said, "We hope the situation in Dokalam will be resolved peacefully and amicably".

This was the first official reaction from Bhutan after Beijing's claim that the Himalayan nation had acknowledged that Dokalam belonged to China. However, China had not offered any evidence to support its claim.

Both Ms Swaraj and Mr Dorji were in Kathmandu to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a grouping of countries in South Asia and South East Asia.

"Time with a close friend and neighbour. The external affairs minister meets with foreign minister of Bhutan Damcho Dorji on sidelines of BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' meet," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted and also posted a picture of the meeting.

The two leaders mainly discussed BIMSTEC cooperation and a range of issues in bilateral relations, Sudhakar Dalale, Joint Secretary North, said of the Swaraj-Dorji meeting.

The meeting between the two leaders comes against the backdrop of the current standoff in Dokalam -- a trijunction between India, China and Bhutan.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector since June 16 after Indian troops stopped the Chinese People's Liberation Army from building a road in the area.