At yesterday’s Socio-Economic Forum organised by the Loden Foundation, the panellists including economists discussed how Gelephu Mindfulness City will help in reshaping the country’s development. The discussions focused on the GMC’s transformative impact on the country’s socio-economic landscape, revolving around the need for collaboration, innovation, and overcoming challenges to fully realize its potential.
Panellists talked about the need for proper collaboration among stakeholders to maximize the opportunities presented by the ambitious initiative.
Yumeka Hirano (PhD), Country Economist for Bhutan at World Bank said “While measuring success through GDP updates may indicate progress, the key question is how the prosperity and growth generated by GMC can be shared with the rest of the country. One aspect is to consider how to account for this success, and another is how the government can develop a framework to ensure that the benefits of GMC are distributed equitably across Bhutan.”
The speakers also talked about the need to invest in the skills development of youth, with the potential for Bhutanese youth to contribute in IT and related fields.
Regarding agriculture, they highlighted opportunities for farmers to benefit from growing demand for organic products, improving rural livelihoods.
However, a Senior Economist at the United Nations pointed out the lack of a laboratory in the country to certify agricultural products for export.
Olaf Jan De Groot (PhD), Senior Economist at United Nations said “One of the challenges for agriculture sector is that there is no laboratory in Bhutan to test the products to get certificated and export to international markets. You have to send it to India which takes a month and if there are mistakes, it takes another month. That’s the kind of project, if the sector can come together, and say that they need a proper laboratory to address these challenges, it can be done.”
The forum called for collaboration among government, private sector, and civil society organisations to seize the opportunities presented by the GMC while addressing existing challenges.
Karma Samten Wangda
