As agreed at the last Biennial High Level Consultation between Bhutan and Denmark held in Thimphu last year, Bhutan and Denmark signed the “Framework for Continued Danish-Bhutanese Partnership” on 21st June 2012, on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The agreement was signed between the Minister of Forest and Agriculture, Lyonpo Dr. Pema Gyamtsho and the Danish Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Villy Sovndal.
The Government of Denmark has been one of Bhutan’s oldest and most important development partners since 1978. Following Bhutan’s impressive socio-economic development, the two governments agreed to phase out formal Danish development assistance to Bhutan after 2015. From 2015, the “Framework for Continued Danish-Bhutanese Partnership” will provide an alternative basis for continued collaboration between Bhutan and Denmark. Under the Framework, the two countries will cooperate in fields of mutual interest including global security, democracy, good governance, and rule-based international cooperation.