‘Cannot overflow’ country with tourists: What Bhutan PM said on tourism, India in interview

What is your view on the India-Bhutan ties presently and your personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

The relations between India and Bhutan have always been good, and right now, it is as good and as close and as friendly as it has ever been. The relations are anchored around the friendship between our leaders (the successive monarchs) and India’s leaders.

It’s unusual that a country as big and as powerful and as complicated as India, has such a close relation with a small neighbour: a small population and the world’s largest population, a small economy and one of the biggest economies in the world. To have such close relations without any suspicion, any vested interest, this is very unusual in the world today. The world could use more of this.

During your recent India trip to address the SOUL conference in New Delhi, you addressed Modi as Bade Bhai.

I was fortunate to be invited as a serving Prime Minister in 2014, during Prime Minister Modi’s inauguration. And then last year, I was invited during his third term oath-taking. We enjoy a very close friendship. He invited me to take part in the inaugural SOUL Leadership Conclave, which is his brainchild. Bhutan was the only foreign representation during the conclave.

I have huge regard for PM Modi’s leadership but also, appreciative for the genuine affection he bestows on me personally. He’s really accepted me as a younger brother. I see him as my mentor, and call him my ‘margdarshak’.

India has also stressed a lot lately on ‘neighbourhood first’. What do you make of that?

I have heard global leaders announce that their country is first. I have not heard of a leader of such a large country saying ‘neighbourhood first’ anywhere in the world at any time in history. It is a wonderful opportunity. I can’t speak for the other neighbouring countries, but for Bhutan, ‘neighbourhood first’ has translated to even deeper friendship between two countries and even more support and assistance from India. It has allowed us to grow our economy, and meet our developmental targets.

Has there ever been any kind of trust deficit between the two countries?

Well, there are certain things along the way that need to be discussed for the interests of both countries. But a deficit in trust is unimaginable. Since the 1940s till now, for over 80 years, we have enjoyed excellent relations. And if anything, it’s been based on the foundations of our friendship and trust. There’s nothing to be suspicious of the interests and the intentions of our neighbour from our side or from India’s side.

In your book, you say Bhutan is untouched by modernisation. It is the country which started the concept of Gross National Happiness. Do you think the two are interconnected in some way?

It’s modernisation that has increased the lifespan of the Bhutanese. Healthcare is modernisation. It’s modernisation that has increased literacy rates among our youth from about 16% to over 99% in one generation.

We have welcomed modernisation to the extent that it does not infringe on our culture and traditions, or destroy our environment. For instance, we have very strict environmental policies. Our laws require 60% forest cover. In reality, it’s more than 70%. We’ve pledged in the Paris Agreement that we will remain carbon neutral for all time. In fact, we are carbon negative.

Now, is GNH possible in Bhutan because of this? Not necessarily, but it brings focus to the very purpose of development, which is well-being. The objective of economic growth must be larger than GDP numbers.

How do you see India as being of any tangible help in fulfilling any of these objectives?

Our growing economy, anchored around hydropower, has been balanced with social progress. In this role, we have benefited from our friendship, support and assistance from the government and the people of India. Be it in terms of economic growth, investments in the hydropower sector, or trading. Around 80% of our trade is with India.

Bhutan’s policy for tourism is high value, low volume, and though we need tourists, including those from India, we recognise that we cannot overflow Bhutan with tourists.

What made you think of writing this book?

People hear of Bhutan and they hear of happiness, spirituality, environment… but not many people hear of our success in democracy, and I want to tell a story to the world. I wrote this book because I had a lot of time on my hands during Covid. I wrote this book about transition to democracy, and the leadership that’s required to enable such a seamless transition, because I had lost the elections. And strangely, having lost the elections, I became a strong believer in our democracy.

At that time, it was the third election. During the first election, I was the first civil servant to resign and start the first political party. We had a dynamic group of candidates, mainly public servants, and we were sure, if anything, that we were going to win the first election… and we got thrashed. Our lower house had 47 seats, we got only two seats.

After five years, this small opposition of two parties, two members, actually won the election. And we thought we did a good job. And then, during the third election, we were booted out of the parliament. We didn’t have a single seat. And, yes, it was painful. But when I reflected, I said, this is what democracy is supposed to be — people have the authority, the freedom, to choose their government. So it happened that, in the last election, we contested again, and won.

You talk about your experience as being a civil servant first, before getting into active politics. In India also, we have examples of civil servants turning politicians. Do you think as a civil servant, you are more well-versed with the system?

Firstly, politicians are public servants, so are bureaucrats. So we are cut from the same piece of cloth. Whether you are a civil servant or a politician, if you are driven by a passion for public service, it really doesn’t matter. In fact, it provides more avenues to serve the public. But not if the individual aim of active politics, regardless of what you say publicly, is personal benefit.

I took up active politics not because I felt that as a civil servant, now I could make a good politician. His Majesty the Fourth King, in one of his last public addresses, said that democracy is real. And for that, you need political parties, and you need people to step up and start political parties. And for that, civil servants, if you are capable, resign and start political parties. It is only through hearing that that I actually resigned and then started working on a political party.