Bhutan and Nepal will resume talks

Bhutan and Nepal will resume talks on the issue of the people in the camps in Nepal, said Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley at Paro airport yesterday. Lyonchhoen was returning after a six-day trip to Nepal and Afghanistan. He visited the two countries in his capacity as the current chairperson of SAARC.

Talks between Bhutan and Nepal on the issue of the people in the camps were suspended in 2003, when members of the Bhutanese joint verification team were attacked by a mob at one of the camps located in eastern Nepal. Until then, 15 ministerial-level talks had been held.

While in Nepal, Lyonchhoen also insisted that the Nepalese government work on the compensation for the Tara Air crash victims’ families. Eighteen Bhutanese were killed, when their plane crashed in Nepal last December.

Lyonchhoen and the Nepalese prime minister, Jhala Nath Khanal, discussed strengthening and deepening relations between the two countries. They agreed to renew a trade agreement to boost bilateral trade. They also agreed to renew and revise a bilateral air services agreement, which could see national airline Drukair operating between Bagdogra, India and Kathmandu, Nepal.

As the current chairperson of SAARC, Lyonchhoen was following up on the implementation of measures reached during the 16th SAARC summit here in Thimphu.

During the three-day visit to Afghanistan, Lyonchhoen met with President Hamid Karzai and with First Vice President Marshall Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Second Vice President Mohammad Karim Khalili.

He said that President Karzai’s trip to Bhutan and his visit to Kabul have enabled the two countries to strengthen and deepen bilateral relations, have a deeper understanding of each other, to work together.

The prime minister was accompanied by the economic affairs minister and minister-in-charge of foreign affairs, Khandu Wangchuk, ambassador of Bhutan to Nepal and officials from the prime minister’s office and foreign ministry.

He described the visit as one that “was committed to deepen and strengthen relations of Bhutan with both Nepal and Afghanistan.”

Source: Kuenselonline