Visit by The Hon Tim Watts, Assistant Foreign Minister of Australia

The Hon Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, arrived in Bhutan today on a visit from 15 to 16 May 2023. The Assistant Foreign Minister is accompanied by His Excellency Mr Robert Barry O’Farrell, Ambassador of Australia to Bhutan, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra and the Embassy of Australia in New Delhi.

The Assistant Foreign Minister will call on the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister today.

Relations between Bhutan and Australia date back to the early 1960s, when Australian assistance in scholarships and animal-husbandry programmes began. Today, human resource development through Australian scholarships is the main focus of bilateral assistance from Australia. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 2002.

This is the first high-level visit from Australia in more than two decades. The visit to Bhutan by the Assistant Foreign Minister will further strengthen the relations between the governments and peoples of the two countries.