New: You can now listen to articles.THIMPHU, Bhutan: Businesses that want to set up in Bhutan’s new special economic zone will have to do so “by special invitation”, said the kingdom’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.The city will be modern and represent a “new form of urban living”, Mr Tobgay told CNA in an exclusive interview.
“ a city in which humans live in harmony with other humans and bring out the best in other humans … a living space in which humans live in harmony with nature, where spirituality and sustainability can live in harmony with human growth and progress, happiness and wellbeing,” he said.“Businesses must be consistent with the ideas on which Gelephu Mindfulness City is being started on.
When asked how Bhutan would attract like-minded partners to the city instead of those who view money as their only driving factor, Mr Tobgay said there are others who understand that there is a deeper meaning to life.“My experience is … the more successful people are, monetarily or otherwise, financially or otherwise, the more they seek out other worldly things. They also seek out nature, they want to be with nature. They want to live a sustainable life,” he added.
“Don't you think that the concept of having a country not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative sounds too good to be true? Don't you think that a country, one of the poorest in the world, being able to provide free universal education and free universal health care … sounds too good to be true?”“Don't you think that a country that has an absolute monarch that imposes democracy on its people – that's too good to be true? This is reality for Bhutan.