Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering will be visiting Brussels, Belgium from June 18-19 to participate in the 13th Edition of the European Development Days (EDD) at the invitation of President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

Lyonchhen leaves for Brussels today according to the Prime Minister’s Office Facebook page.

The EDD, which was instituted in 2006 by the European Union (EU), brings together leaders, practitioners, policy and decision-makers, to share analysis, shape best practices and map priorities for the future.

Lyonchhen will participate in the high level panel, the theme for which is “addressing inequalities: building a world which leaves no one behind,” a foreign ministry press release states.

The EU has for the first time also included a side event on Bhutan at the EDD 2019 titled “EU-Bhutan Cooperation for Disaster Risk Reduction” to showcase the exemplary and successful relations between Bhutan and the EU.

Director General,  Department of Disaster Management, Jigme Thinlye Namgyal,  will represent Bhutan as one of the panelists at the side event.

At the sidelines of the EDD, Lyonchhen will meet the leadership of the EU and with leaders from other partner countries participating in the EDD.

Bhutan and the European Union established diplomatic relations in August 1985. The EU has been an important development partner for Bhutan since 1982 and continues to be actively engaged in Bhutan.

EU’s assistance to Bhutan for the 11th Plan was focused in the two sectors of Good Governance and Renewable Natural Resources, with a total funding of Euro 42 million. Apart from bilateral development assistance, Bhutan also avails opportunities through several other thematic windows of EU funding such as Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), ERASMUS+ and regional programmes. With an additional Euro 5 million for climate change adaptation and Euro 4 Million for trade diversification, the total EU assistance to Bhutan in the current cycle is Euro 51 Million.

Staff Reporter