PM Oli, Bhutanese Counterpart Hold Meaningful Dialogue

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had quite a hectic day in Bangkok on Thursday as he had a series of meetings and engagements with diverse agendas on the sidelines of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit.   

He had a meaningful meeting with his counterpart from Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, given its timing.
 
According to PM Oli’s Secretariat, the two prime ministers had a discussion on diverse areas of cooperation. Notably, the two had a meeting during the 79th general assembly of the United Nations also.  

Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba, PM’s chief adviser Bishnu Prasad Rimal and Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai were among those present at the meeting.

After the meet, PM Tobgay posted on his X account: Pleased to meet with the Prime Minister of Nepal @PM_nepal_ on the sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok today. We discussed the longstanding ties between our two nations and explored avenues to further strengthen our cooperation.

PM Oli’s meeting with the Bhutanese counterpart comes amid reports of the eviction of Bhutanese refugees from the United States and some of these people’s entry into Nepal through the Panitanki border point from Bhutan via India. 

In the 1990’s and in early 2000’s, the Thimphu regime had evicted more than one lakh Nepali-speaking Bhutanese nationals using brute force that included torching of their homes, seizure of their properties and rape.

As Nepal and Bhutan do not share direct land border, Bhutanese forces used to push them up to the India border from which Indian authorities would push them into eastern parts of Nepal.

With a little help from international humanitarian agencies, Nepal had sheltered the displaced one lakh-plus Bhutanese nationals before a third-country resettlement program covered a large section of them amid diminishing international humanitarian support and a deepening crisis that significantly affected the host communities.


A call for collaboration

PM Oli also met with Sri Lankan PM Harini Amarasuriya, with discussions centering on deepening bilateral ties and advancing shared priorities.

With his Myanmarese counterpart, Min Aung Hlaing, PM Oli discussed the devastating earthquake in Myanmar.

Nepal has extended support to Myanmar by deploying a 22-member Nepali Army medical team.

Speaking at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, PM Oli emphasized the importance of collective efforts in securing a prosperous future for humanity with a strong call for collaboration and shared progress.