THIMPHU, 04 September 2021, (TON): According to the Gross National Happiness Commission’s (GNHC) secretary, Thinley Namgyel “the European Union (EU) have committed its support and fund of 31 million Euro for the next 2021 to 2024 for Bhutan.”

The support committed is irrespective of Bhutan’s graduation from Least Developed Countries (LDC) status in 2023.

The secretary said that Bhutan has five years’ cooperation with the EU, which officially would have concluded in 2020, but some of the activities are still ongoing and the EU has announced to continue support Bhutan from 2021 till 2027.

The secretary added “we’ve already started working in terms of next phase of support. There will be a mid-term review of EU programmes in 2024 and then EU will make a commitment for next three years.”

The commitment was formally announced during the 15th Round Table Meeting between the government and development partners held yesterday in Thimphu.

The meeting was held in a hybrid format to review the progress and implementation of the 12th Five Year Plan.