On November 21, 2024, Ambassador Beresford-Hill met with H.E. Ambassador Pema Lektup Dorji, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Dorji had served as Permanent Representative-designate of Bhutan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York since April 2023. His career includes leading the Department of Immigration at Bhutan’s Ministry of Home Affairs in Thimphu as Director General and serving as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He also worked as Chief of the Division of International Organizations in the Multilateral Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Director at the Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Kathmandu. Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992, he has held various positions at headquarters and at Bhutan’s embassies in New Delhi and Dhaka.
At the outset of the meeting, Ambassador Beresford-Hill provided an overview of the Sovereign Order of Malta, detailing its origins, history, and extensive global humanitarian work. He highlighted the Order’s initiatives, including the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem and recent humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
Ambassador Dorji expressed keen interest in the Order’s history and its ongoing efforts, commending its dedication to humanitarian causes. He noted Bhutan’s deep concern about the current global landscape, marked by widespread armed conflicts, political polarisation, and humanitarian crises. He noted that, as a peace-loving nation, Bhutan strongly supports humanitarian initiatives and stands ready to collaborate with organisations committed to addressing these challenges.
Ambassador Dorji shared insights into Bhutan’s contributions to humanitarian relief, particularly during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. He highlighted the role of Bhutan’s De-suung program, also known as “Guardians of Peace,” which comprises 40,000 trained volunteers skilled in emergency response, search and rescue, aid distribution, and medical care. He shared that many members of the De-suung are doctors, and that their deployment following the Nepal earthquake included airlifting supplies and conducting operations in remote and inaccessible areas. In addition to disaster relief, the De-suung also assists with crowd control and responds to forest fires, the Ambassador noted.
Ambassador Dorji remarked on Bhutan’s development journey, noting its transition from a Least Developed Country (LDC) status. While no longer classified as an LDC, he noted that Bhutan remains a Landlocked Developing Country (LLDC), reliant on neighboring India and China for trade and economic activities. He also discussed Bhutan’s focus on expanding hydroelectric capabilities to support its development as a mountainous nation.
As the meeting concluded, both Ambassadors expressed a shared interest in exploring potential avenues for collaboration between Bhutan and the Order of Malta, reaffirming their commitment to advancing humanitarian efforts.
