From discussions on political and economic development to bilateral development cooperation, Australia Award scholarships and Bhutan-Australia cooperation, the 5th bilateral consultation between the two countries covered a wide range of issues of mutual interest.
The meeting was held in Thimphu yesterday.
The Australian’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is an Australian government aid program for developing countries, has been focused on development of human resources over the last few decades.
The Australian delegation to the meeting reaffirmed continued support to developing and strengthening Bhutan’s human resource capacity.
The First Assistant Secretary of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kathy Klugman, said Australia remains committed to support Bhutan’s human resource development through scholarships and also other kinds of learning opportunities.
The meeting also discussed about the upcoming 12th Five Year Plan. The Australian delegation said care will be taken to ensure Australia’s Official Development Assistance is in line with Bhutan’s 12th Five Year Plan.
“We are conscious that the government of Bhutan is developing a new five year plan to guide its development over the coming years and we want to make sure that the priorities in our ODA match the priorities in Bhutan’s priorities plan,” Kathy Klugman said.
“One thing that we are determined to do, and we have the support from the government of Bhutan in this, is to make sure that our ODA is inclusive. For example, when we develop our aid programs in Bhutan, we will make sure that it is inclusive of Bhutanese men and women.”
The bilateral consultation provides a forum for the two countries to exchange views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and also to discuss areas of cooperation in various fields.
Bhutan hosted the first consultation after the establishment of formal diplomatic relationship between the two countries in 2002. The two countries had since taken turns to host the meeting alternately.
