His Majesty The King granted an audience at Paro Shaba yesterday morning to the first ever Bhutanese contingent of 180 personnel from the Royal Bhutan Army, being deployed for United Nations peacekeeping operations. The contingent is expected to begin their assignment in September. 

At the request of the UN, Bhutan is contributing a Light Quick Reaction Force to support the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission for the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). The contingent has undergone the required pre-deployment training. A recce team from the RBA visited the location to assess the overall security environment and task assigned to Bhutan in preparation for the deployment.  

Addressing the contingent, His Majesty said that the deployment is a milestone in a new era of Bhutan’s development journey, in which Bhutan is now able to contribute to global peace. Bhutan began participating in UN Peacekeeping in 2014 by contributing military observers, staff officers, and individual police officers.

While in Paro, His Majesty also granted audiences to scouts participating in the 15th Scouts Leadership Training Programme, and the staff and students of Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law in Pangbisa.