Meeting of the Parliament 29 January 2026 [Draft]
::It gives me great pleasure to open the debate and formally move the motion on building links with Bhutan.
Never in my wildest dreams—nor, I suspect, those of my fellow members of the Scottish Parliament—did I expect to be given the honour of leading colleagues from our Scottish Parliament on such a fascinating visit to Bhutan.
Without the financial help, administrative support and leadership of the Tam O’Shanter Trust, the visit would never have happened. In addition, we had excellent support from the Loden Foundation and Bhutan Homestay, which allowed us to meet parliamentarians, entrepreneurs and many others. I thank them all profusely for giving us such a remarkable experience, from which we have learned a great deal. We have much to reflect on as a result.
I welcome Lesley Kennedy from the Tam O’Shanter Trust and Tshering Dorji, a Bhutanese national who is working for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, who are both sitting in the public gallery.
Bhutan is set amid the spectacular Himalayas and is bordered to the south, east and west by India and to the north by Tibet. The Bhutanese are surrounded by the two most populous countries in the world—India, with 1.46 billion people, and China, with 1.42 billion people—while Bhutan has a smaller population; it is approaching 800,000.
Bhutan has a close relationship with India but a troubled one with China. China claims that it has rights over Bhutanese territories in three sectors—the north, west and east—and, since 1984, Bhutan and China have had 25 rounds of border talks. It would therefore be wrong and too simplistic to see Bhutan as an untroubled, idyllic place. Like the rest of us, it faces geopolitical challenges.
Bhutan is famed for a culture and governance that are very different from Scotland. Since 2008, it has become a constitutional monarchy, with the king as head of state. Executive power is vested in a council of ministers and legislative power in a bicameral Parliament. It was not until 2008 that Bhutan adopted its first modern constitution, which codified the institutions of government and the legal framework for a democratic multiparty system.
It is notable for a vibrant Buddhist heritage and magnificent cultural assets, including its numerous fortresses and temples, the best known of which is the Paro Taksang—also known as the tiger’s nest. It is a legendary monastery that hangs precariously on the edge of a 3,102m tall cliff. We know that because we climbed it.
My experience in Bhutan has persuaded me that to be Bhutanese goes beyond nationality. It embodies a deep connection with nature, and its Buddhist heritage influences everything. I notice, too, the values that are embedded in the national psyche—compassion, consensus, self-reflection and humility, to name a few. That has allowed change to evolve through people rather than happen to people, although key groups, such as women, are still too underrepresented in the Parliament and Government. However, Bhutan is not alone in that. Despite being surrounded by giants, Bhutan has nevertheless carved out its own unique attributes.
Take, for example, corruption. Transparency International’s annual corruption perception index ranks 180 countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The least corrupt country, ranked at number 1, is Denmark. Bhutan comes in at 18, whereas China is ranked at 76 and India at 96. As a matter of interest, the UK is ranked below Bhutan, at 20.
I should also add that, as we strive for a future that is carbon neutral, Bhutan is unique in being a carbon-negative country. However, that said, it, too, faces the challenge of climate change, which does not respect borders.
Bhutan has become internationally notable for developing its own gross national happiness index. The measurement is useful for policy making and policy incentives for Government, non-governmental organisations and businesses of Bhutan and to increase societal wellbeing and happiness. When we were there, it was hard to make an honest assessment of how that was operating in practice and in policy making. We know about that in Scotland, too, with the challenges of our national performance framework. I watch with interest to see how that can be developed and sustained, particularly as Bhutan develops its capital markets and financial sector.
I will now reflect on how things might be taken forward to the mutual advantage of both Bhutan and Scotland. There are multiple areas where a sharing of innovative practice might prove mutually beneficial, such as environmental management, climate change, sustainable tourism, population retention, entrepreneurship and democratic governance.
There are opportunities to further develop relationships with Bhutan and I encourage the Loden Foundation to work with friends in Scotland. I strongly believe that, after the elections, active consideration should be given to forming a cross-party group on Bhutan. The membership should come from Scotland and Bhutan and a good starting place could be to include our academic and cultural communities. At that point, I will no longer be a member of the Parliament to take that initiative forward, but I encourage interested members in the next session to do so.
It could also be useful to focus on developing cultural links to enjoy and appreciate the different cultural assets. We have much to learn from the intriguing country of Bhutan and I, again, give grateful thanks for the experience that I have gained.