Education has always been the cornerstone of the Bhutan-Australia bilateral relationship with Australia supporting the human resource development of Bhutan through its fully-funded scholarship programmes.
Since 2007, close to a thousand Bhutanese, including civil servants and private and corporate sector employees, have studied in Australian universities and institutes under Australia’s long standing scholarship programs- the Australia Awards and Endeavour Scholarships- and also the Australian Leadership Awards.
Ambassador Sidhu said, today, as the two countries celebrate 15 years of diplomatic relations, it remains just as focused on working with Bhutan to strengthen the country’s human resource capacity.
While education and human resource development has been and will continue to remain a key part of the Australian support to Bhutan, Ambassador Sidhu said tourism and innovation are other areas of cooperation.
Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji agreed that support in human resource development and education remains the cornerstone of Bhutan-Australia. “The assistance, which began with supply of trucks and jersey heifers, continues today in diverse areas such as agriculture and tourism, most importantly in education and HRD,” said Lyonpo.
Also at the event to celebrate the education partnership between the two countries, a book called “An Alumni Perspective” was launched.
The book is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to the people and the government of Australia for the generous scholarships and developmental assistance rendered to the Bhutanese.
In the book, 15 distinguished alumni working in reputed institutions share their Australian story and how their experience in Australia has shaped their life journey.
The book, an initiative of the Bhutan Australia Alumni Association (BAAA), is also to celebrate 15 years of Bhutan-Australia diplomatic relations.
