As Bhutan prepares to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group by next year (2023), the Australian government has reassured that Bhutan will continue to be eligible for official development assistance from Australia following graduation.
This was confirmed by the First Secretary, Belinda Costin, of the Australia High Commission in New Delhi in an exclusive virtual interview with BBS yesterday.
“For Australia’s part, our bilateral engagement with Bhutan including our development cooperation will reflect and adapt to Bhutan’s growing economy and any shift in development priority,” asserted the First Secretary.
Although Bhutan and Australia established formal bilateral relations in 2002, the warm and friendly relationship between the two countries dates back to 1962 when Bhutan joined the Colombo Plan.
Headquartered in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organisation that primarily focuses on human resource development in its 28-member countries with Australia being one of the members.
According to the official website of the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), its bilateral funding to Bhutan in 2022-2023 is AUD 4.3 M.
The financial support covers regional investments in trade, water, energy and connectivity as well as support for NGO and volunteer programmes.
Pema Lhaden
