Visiting Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley expressed Bhutan´s willingness to resume the talks during a meeting with his counterpart Jhalanath Khanal at the latter´s Office in Singha Durbar, Friday. [break]
Talking to media persons after the meeting, the prime minister´s foreign relations advisor Milan Raj Tuladhar said Prime Minister Khanal raised the issue of Bhutanese refugees who have been languishing in various seven camps in eastern Nepal for over two decades. “There has been an agreement to resume the bilateral talks to resolve the refugee problem,” he said.
Tuladhar said Thinley is positive about resuming bilateral talks anytime soon. “However, there has not been any agreement on the date to resume the talks. This will be settled through a diplomatic channel,” he added.
A ministerial joint committee of the two countries formed to resolve the refugee problem last held its 15th meeting in the Bhutanese capital, Thimphu on October 20-23, 2003. Bhutanese side so far had not shown any interests to resume the talks after an angry mob of refugees tried to manhandle the Bhutanese members of the Joint Verification Team (JVT) on December 22, 2003.
Of the total 12,090 refugees interviewed for verification in Khudunabari camp, the JVT had said that only 293 Bhutanese were bona fide Bhutanese eligible to return to Bhutan.
Prime Minister Khanal´s request comes at a time when a significant number of Bhutanese refugees have opted for repatriation with full dignity. The government has been maintaining that it wants to respect the rights of those wishing to return to their homeland though over 44,000 of total 108,000-plus refugees have already left for various eight countries for third country settlement.
Thinley, who arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday in his capacity as the sitting chairman of SAARC for consultation on mid-term review of progress made by the Bhutan Declaration since the 16th SAARC summit, briefed PM Khanal on the progress made in the SAARC process. “Both the prime ministers have expressed satisfaction over the achievements SAARC has made so far,” said a press statement issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Thinley told media persons after his meeting with Khanal that they covered a wide range of issues facing the two countries during the talks. “Both of us are concerned over how to strengthen our relations at the bilateral level as well as how Bhutan and Nepal can work together to strengthen the SAARC process,” he said.
“Nepal and Bhutan have common dreams and aspirations. There was a deep understanding and the acceptance that we must work together as we have done in the past,” the Bhutanese prime minister said. The talks between the two prime ministers dwelt on bilateral relations in the fields of trade, commerce, tourism and culture and air service.
Prime Minister Thinley, who is accompanied by Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister in-charge of Foreign Affairs Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuck and senior officials of Bhutan government, held a meeting with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav later in the afternoon. He is scheduled to hold a press conference before flying back home on Saturday.
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