Bhutan PM Lotay Tshering, who recently visited Germany, met top leaders of the country which include President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
An official post on the Facebook page of the Bhutan PM about the meeting with the Chancellor said, ” Following a reception with a Guard of Honour, the prime minister and the Chancellor engaged in an open and heartfelt dialogue in a private as well as extended meetings.”
The Chancellor also lauded Bhutan for the excellent management of the pandemic, especially for securing effective vaccination coverage.
“The Chancellor thanked the prime minister and delegation for visiting Germany, stating it as an opportunity to reaffirm commitments to work together and strengthen ties following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in November 2020,” read the Facebook post.
The two heads of the government decided to enhance technical education in Bhutan through exchanges of students, and experts and long-term collaborations so that Bhutan visibly attains the standards and skills in the coming years.
The two sides also expressed interest to expand cooperation in the green and renewable energy sector.
Speaking on the meeting with the country’s president, the Facebook post said: “Prime minister offered the warm greetings of His Majesty The King and the prayers of people of Bhutan to the president and thanked him for the cooperation and support of Germany in Bhutan’s developmental journey.”
“In a frank and candid conversation, which the prime minister heartily appreciated, they discussed topics ranging from the pandemic to geopolitical situation to mutual areas of cooperation the two countries will pursue hereafter,” read the statement.
Scholz underlined Bhutan’s pioneering role in measuring well-being. The Gross National Happiness indicator was invented in Bhutan: “I think it makes a lot of sense to measure our prosperity not only based on economic key figures but to consider non-material factors, too.” He described Bhutan’s idea to take the happiness of its citizens into account as fascinating and added that attempts were being made, also in Germany, to determine well-being on a broader basis. This was why the annual economic report now contained both social and economic indicators, he explained.
