The Great Development Architect
It raised high expectations when I received instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark to set up the first Danida office in Bhutan in the early 1990s. The Kingdom of Denmark had identified the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan as one of its priority development partners, and the challenge was to build up a programme that would cover the interest of both partners over a relatively short time span.
Soon it became clear that the partnership would develop smoothly and efficiently because of the development policies of Bhutan and the matching priorities of Denmark. His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck ahd, over the years, crafted a sound and prudent development strategy. His foresight had put equity, welfare (Gross National Happiness) and democratisation at the heart of the national development agenda, and the pace envisioned was harmonised with the capacity of the people to adapt to change.
To work and live in Bhutan under such circumstances became a privilege. The compact and efficient civil service was the perfect partner to a donor agency from a small country with virtues very similar to those prevailing in Bhutan. Drawing on inspiration from His Majesty, development plans and gargets were set based on national interest, and partners were expected to adapt and support the national plans without heavy conditional ties. This was much in line with Danish development policies and to this day remains consistent with best practice in the international development arena.
Living and working as an expatriate in Bhutan became a happy and fruitful experience both in terms of work and social relations. The peaceful capital, the breathtaking nature and the friendliness of the people were all elements that blended into the daily life, while audiences with His Majesty became highly inspirational encounters that helped draft the future steps in the partnership between our nations.
What we see today is an impressive consequence of the policies set out several decades ago by King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Democracy is developing, people’s welfare is advancing and poverty and inequities are rapidly diminishing. Bhutan is defined as a developing country, but it is also very developed on its own terms.
Two memories take high seat from my time, and from many later visits, in Bhutan.
The Bhutanese people were interested in learning and adopting technological progress in the richer world and then using it to the best benefit of the country. But, unlike in Bhutan, spiritual values were not seen as a quality in the western world. “You westerners are rich in material things, but we Bhutanese are rich in spiritual values”.
At a luncheon hosted by His Majesty, I asked him about the yeti in Bhutan. His Majesty answered that he had been trying to gain evidence of its presence in Bhutan. His Majesty had even sent out scouts with cameras to try to capture images of yeti. Once, His Majesty told me, one of these scouts had come across a yeti, but he became so nervous that he was shaking all over when he took his picture, and it became so blurred that the creature could not be seen clearly. I believe that demonstrating the existence of the yeti is one of the only achievements in which His Majesty has not succeeded.
Bjorn Melgaard
Former Danida Co-ordinator in Bhutan
2007