The Government of Japan, has decided to give US $ 2,000,000 to United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR)’s 2006 Annual Programme Budget for Nepal.

A press release issued by the UN refugee agency said, the assistance boosted the refugee agency’s ability to provide continued protection and assistance for the refugees in camps in eastern Nepal.

The statement quoted UNHCR’s Representative in Nepal, Abraham Abraham as saying, “This is tremendous and we wish to thank the Government and people of Japan for this important and generous contribution to UNHCR’s activities in Nepal.”

Abraham added, “When needs arise, we’ve always had a very positive response from the Japanese government and this year’s Japanese contribution represents a 100 percent increase from last year towards funding of the refugee agency’s total needs in Nepal.”

The Government of Japan is the second largest donor of UNHCR programmes worldwide, and has been supporting the refugee agency’s programme in Nepal since the beginning, the statement adds.

The UN refugee agency is providing international protection and assistance to around 106,000 Bhutanese refugees sheltering in seven camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990’s.

Fifteen rounds of bilateral negotiations between the Bhutanese and Nepalese governments failed to resolve the issue.