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Helvetas |
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Bhutan's Development |
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Bhutan's Development |
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Swiss
senator shares views on Bhutan |
October
2003
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| Mr Gian-Reto Plattner donates Nu 170,000 to the royal society for the protection
of nature |
The
ability of the country to adopt an institutional revolution without any
social unrest is the biggest indicator of good governance, said the senator
and president of the Swiss parliament, Mr Gian-Reto Plattner, who is on
a personal visit to Bhutan. |
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The
senator said that he had come to Bhutan with some reserved preconceptions
which quickly disappeared once he came to know the people and the country.
"I am struck with the amazing optimism your people exhibit and how everyone
is moving together towards the nation building process,"he said. The senator
commended the positive achievements of Bhutan within a short period of
time. However the devolution of power and the institution building was
only a half achieved goal of a democratic society. The other half constituted
horizontal power sharing, implying the involvement of the people themselves.
"The rightful inhabitants or the citizens of the country must have the
rights that are protected by a constitution which I believe you are processing,"
he said. In the same line, he stressed the importance of establishing a
supreme court that will uphold the right of the people to contest against
the state. "I can see how well the civil servants, ministers and the parliamentarians
work and I am confident that this will be achieved as part of the whole
process,"he added.
Mr
Gian-Reto Plattner said that it was critical and important for Bhutan to
take careful and well chosen steps to pursue the goals it aspires to achieve.
"It is a simple fact that if you oppose people, you collect opponents but
if you include them, they help to build it,"he said. "Be careful not to
create opponents of a nation out of fear of security,"he added.
Sharing
his views on the "refugee and militant"problem, the senator said that armed
rebels in the south could impede the development of the nation. He said
that the refugee issue should be dealt with wisely and that some action
must come out of it soon. On the militants he said he hoped that both the
concerned parties found the wisdom to solve it through talks "because,
in fighting, nobody is the winner and everybody loses".
Talking
about Swiss-Bhutan friendship, the senator said that the two countries
could together achieve a lot on a mutual level and understanding and learn
from each other's experiences. As a gesture of goodwill, the senator donated
Nu 85,000 each to the Tarayana foundation and the youth development fund
(YDF). He also donated Nu 170,000 to the royal society for protection of
nature (RSPN).
Born
in 1939, Mr Gian-Reto Plattner is a renowned researcher in scientific study.
Before he took up a political career in 1982, he was an associate professor
in experimental physics at the university of Basel, Switzerland.
Mr
Gian-Reto Plattner met the foreign minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk
and the minister for work and human settlements, Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji.
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| Nu
105 million Swiss assistance in Ninth Plan |
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December
2002
The
Helvetas (Swiss association for international cooperation) has committed
Nu 75 million for agriculture development in the east-central region and
another Nu 30 million to further improve the quality of training at the
natural resources training institute (NRTI) during the ninth plan. The
east central project will support the implementation of selected renewable
natural resources sectors (excluding forestry) of the Ninth Plan in the
four dzongkhags of Bumthang, Trongsa, Zhemgang and Sarpang. Spread over
a period of five years till June 2007, the project will focus on Document,
communication, dissemination of RNR information, building human capacity
through long and short term training in-country and abroad, and support
local development initiatives. The fourth phase of assistance to NRTI,
which will continue till 2006, will focus primarily on human resource development
and provision of training facilities. The overall aim of the institute
is to make NRTI a centre of excellence for rural development through high
quality training and professional services in the RNR sector.
The
two agreements were signed in Thimphu by the director general of the department
of aid and debt management (DADM), aum Yanki T. Wangchuk on behalf of the
royal government and the resident representative of the Helvetas coordination
office, Mr. Dieter Zuercher.
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| Swiss
foreign minister visits Bhutan |
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April
2002
The
two foreign ministers seal the NIE agreement
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Switzerland
and Bhutan have been working together for many years and the two countries
were not only partners in development cooperation but would be good partners
within the United Nations as small member nations, according to the Swiss
foreign minister, Mr. Joseph Deiss.
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Mr.
Deiss, who is currently in Bhutan on a three-day visit, said that his visit
gave him the opportunity for political dialogue with Bhutanese leaders
on different issues which included the drafting of the constitution, national
security, human rights, and other issues of interest to Switzerland.
Bhutan
being one of the 17 focus countries for Swiss development assistance the
Swiss government has allocated SFr 7.5 million in agricultural and forestry
activities this year broadly aimed at poverty alleviation. Mr. Deiss and
the Bhutanese foreign minister, Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, signed an agreement
through which the Swiss government will assist the expansion of the national
institute of education in Samtse and Paro.
The
Swiss contribution of SFr. 7.187 million (Nu. 212.016 m) and Nu. 12.2 from
the government will be used to increase the enrollment capacity from 450
to 980 trainees after 2005, and expand the facilities at the two campuses.
"We could see how well this institution is working in the education of
teachers," said Mr. Deiss. "I think that is a central issue for every country.
Education is the future of a country and we are very happy that we can
participate in this project." The ninth plan will see an expenditure
of Nu. 390.354 million on facilities in Paro and Samtse.
Lyonpo
Jigmi Thinley described the first visit of a Swiss foreign minister to
Bhutan as a demonstration of the growing relations between the two countries.
"I would like to think that the reason that the delegation has found time
to visit Bhutan has to do with a good level of satisfaction that they have
found in the way in which our bilateral cooperation have been developing
both in terms of the substance as well as in terms of the processes." Lyonpo
Jigmi Thinley said that it was a policy of the government to interact very
closely with Switzerland with which Bhutan shared a common perceptions
on most issues. He welcomed Switzerland as the member of the United Nation
since Switzerland was scheduled to join the UN during the coming session
of the UN General Assembly this year.
Mr.
Deiss, who is accompanied by Switzerland's ambassador to Bhutan, Mr. Walter
B. Gyger and other senior officials, will receive an audience with His
Majesty the King today. His Majesty and Their Majesties the Queens will
also host a lunch for the foreign minister and his delegation.
| Contributed
by KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspape |
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