22 August 2002

Thimphu, Bhutan: United Nations Volunteers Honorary Ambassador, Mr. Takehito Nakata of Japan, today completed a five-day official visit to Bhutan hosted by the Royal Government during which he met with the Honourable Prime Minister Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji and other high-ranking government officials.

The Prime Minister praised the Ambassador for having dedicated so much for the cause of volunteerism and development work. He said His Majesty, when he came to the throne, had emphasized the need for self-reliance. Since then, Bhutan had come a long way, but the Prime Minister anticipated that assistance from volunteers would still be required for quite some time.

"Volunteers have contributed so much to our development," he said. "Our position today is due to all this support from volunteers." He added that Bhutan was proud to have had Bhutanese nationals serving overseas, playing their part in the UNV programme.

Mr. Nakata said he was "very impressed" by the work of the UN Volunteer programme in Bhutan and also by the work being carried out by the Royal Government and the people of Bhutan. "Volunteerism has a strong tradition in Bhutan, and I am very pleased to see that Bhutan has been playing such an active role in the recognition of volunteers through the celebration of International Year of Volunteers [2001]."

The Honorary Ambassador also met with the Secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC), Dasho Jijmi Singye, who said that UNV had played a significant role in building the capacity of the people in Bhutan. He noted that UN Volunteers were not working with their Bhutanese counterparts on a one-to-one basis, but one-to-many, and thus the benefit of the UNV presence is multiplied. During the last two decades, as the needs of Bhutan had changed, the UNV support had shifted from gap-filling to a more focused and specialized role.

At a meeting held at the Ministry of Communications, Deputy Minister Dasho Leki Dorji expressed gratitude to the UNV programme and its volunteers for the support it has provided to the Ministry, and Bhutan as a whole, and also expressed appreciation for the funding support provided by the Government of Japan. He noted the priorities of many people in Bhutan, for roads, electricity and telephone communications, and hoped for further support from UNDP and the UNV programme.

The Honorary Ambassador also called upon Dasho Meghraj Gurung, Director General of Bhutan Post, where the concept of volunteerism, especially at grassroots level, was discussed. The Ambassador expressed appreciation to Dasho Meghraj for helping to make the celebration of International Year of Volunteers 2001 a success in Bhutan.

UNV was the first volunteer organization to work in Bhutan. Since 1980, 350 volunteers, from 41 countries, have served in the country. Administered by UNDP, the UNV programme reached a peak in 1992 when a total of 72 UN Volunteers were serving in Bhutan.

Bhutan has also contributed to UNV's worldwide efforts. To date, 17 Bhutanese nationals have gone overseas to serve as UN Volunteers, mostly in ex-conflict areas such as Eritrea, East Timor, Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone.

Eleven years ago, Mr. Nakata's only son Atsuhito, was tragically assassinated while serving in Cambodia in 1993 as a UNV district electoral supervisor. Mr. Nakata then chose to abandon his successful business in his native Japan, in order to follow his son's example to promote volunteerism and volunteer activities for development and the United Nations' role for the international community. Mr. Nakata was therefore given the distinction of being designated the Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Volunteers.

Throughout his visit to Bhutan, Mr. Nakata was accompanied by UNV headquarters acting chief for the region, Mr. Thuan Nguyen.