THIMPHU: The US has said it will continue to resettle Bhutanese refugees from their camps in Nepal.

During his recent visit to the Himalayan country, United States Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said about 15,000 refugees will be permitted to resettle in a year and about 60,000 in all.

Boucher also said that Bhutan and Nepal must work together and have discussions to work out the issues of resettlement of people in the camps of Nepal, the state media reported.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 8,000 Bhutanese refugees left their camps in Nepal for resettlement in third countries in 2008, with nearly 7,550 of them going to the US.

At present, there are about 103,000 refugees from Bhutan living in seven camps in eastern Nepal, with some having been in exile for as long as 18 years. Some 16,000-18,000 of them are expected to leave Nepal this year.

On the other hand, Boucher also congratulated the people of Bhutan for a successful transition to democracy.

He met King Jigme Khesar Namgyal and Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley and discussed with them issues like information and technology, hydropower projects, tourism, education and democracy.

Although no formal diplomatic relations exist between the two countries, Boucher said that there were a couple of elements that the US and Bhutan can work with.

In fact, “we can do a lot together,” he said.

The Times of India , 15 Feb 2009, 1342 hrs IST, PTI