Kathmandu, November 7:

Bhutan today expressed hope that the new government of Bhutan — to be formed next year — and the government of Nepal will make progress towards the resolution of Bhutanese refugees’ problem.

Bhutan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji, said the Bhutan government commended the humanitarian efforts of the US government to resolve the Bhutanese refugee problem, which he said was very complex with serious implications for the South Asian region, Bhutan’s official website kuenselon-line.com said.

“The government of Bhutan is fully committed to the agreement we have already signed with the government of Nepal,” he said.

“Our new government will be in place early next year and I sincerely hope that the two governments will be able to move ahead with the bilateral process on this protracted issue. We welcome the initiative taken by the US government and it is our collective responsibility to ensure a comprehensive and permanent solution to the problem.”

The Bhutanese minister said this after a meeting with Ellen R Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, who flew to Bhutan on Sunday after her visit to Nepal.

The US delegation led by Sauerbrey will visit India from tomorrow to talk about India’s role to resolve the refugee crisis.