US officials arrive to begin resettlement process

Kathmandu, April 22: Two officials from the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) arrived in Kathmandu for a six-day visit to Nepal on Sunday. 

They are Lawrence Bartlett, Deputy Director for Asia and the Near East, and Janice Belz, Deputy Director for Admissions.

The officials are here to review protection, assistance, and durable solutions for exiled Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees in Nepal.

They will hold meetings with the representatives of the government of Nepal, the UN, and the diplomatic community to discuss technical and operational issues related to the proposed US resettlement program for exiled Bhutanese.

The officials will visit the exiled Bhutanese camps in Jhapa district to meet with members of the community.

US said it would resettle some 60,000 exiled Bhutanese in US in the next five years. The process would begin from July. Bhutan News Service