On Sept. 20, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, arrived in New York City to attend the High-Level Week of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The following day, the prime minister held a dinner for the Bhutanese people residing in the area, including Jetsuen Pema ’28. Pema attended the event and told The Phoenix about her experience.
Prime Minister Tobgay began the dinner by fostering a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Pema recalled the conversation she had with the prime minister.
“The prime minister and I had a short but sweet conversation. He recognized I went to Swarthmore since his own daughter is an alum at Swarthmore,” Pema said. “He congratulated me and told me to study hard.”
Additionally, the prime minister delivered a speech detailing current policies and developmental plans regarding Bhutan.
“The prime minister spoke heavily about the current projects going on in Bhutan such as the thirteenth Five-Year Plan as well as the Gelephu Mindfulness City [GMC],” Pema said. “Personally, I was really intrigued by what the prime minister had to say about the GMC because I think it’s so fascinating how aspects of Bhutanese values such as being mindful about the natural resources around us — especially, as our official religion is Buddhism — is seen through the country’s architecture and civil engineering projects.”
Bhutan’s thirteenth Five-Year Plan is a strategic plan to aid the Kingdom’s achievement of objectives, including becoming a high-income country, investing in the development of human capital, specifically education, and continuing to prioritize environmental conservation.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City is an ongoing Bhutanese project aiming to create a sustainable and carbon-negative community. The GMC distinguishes itself from other cities as its construction and development is based on the promotion of mindfulness, cultural preservation, and holistic wellbeing.
Pema said hearing about such projects directly from Prime Minister Tobgay, who is heavily involved in them, made her, as a resident of Bhutan, excited for the future of her country.
This year’s UNGA High-Level Week lasted five days and was dedicated to events focusing on the collaboration of leaders in policy and business with citizens to address and increase awareness on critical global issues, including the progression of the United Nations’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As the world’s only official carbon-negative nation, Bhutan is renowned for being a global leader in biodiversity conservation as well as sustainable environmental policies.
“Climate change is an evidently very urgent global issue,” Pema said. “Listening to the prime minister of my own country talk more in depth about Bhutan’s own mission and plans to help preserve our land and the environment was very informative and reassuring, especially since nature and forests are a large part of what I love about Bhutan.”
Pema also emphasized the importance of such initiatives for Bhutan and the kingdom’s future, especially as she is a member of the Bhutanese youth.
“Both these endeavors are so significant for Bhutan as they will shape the future of Bhutan, and Bhutanese are currently filled with anxiety and anticipation for the new future that awaits us,” she said. “Hearing about these plans for the future made me curious for what is to come and excited about how I, as a Bhutanese youth, citizen, and someone fortunate to study abroad, will be able to contribute to the economic and social development of my country.”
Pema is interested in bringing her Swarthmore education and experiences abroad back to Bhutan to help her community.
“My goal is to ultimately apply this knowledge and education in ways that I know will benefit my Bhutanese community and home,” Pema said. “Hearing the prime minister talk about what is to be done in Bhutan, I felt encouraged to aid this process of advancing Bhutan in the future as well.”
Pema also highlighted an aspect of the dinner that extends beyond education and policies.
“I looked forward to the experience as not only was it an opportunity to get to meet and interact with the prime minister of my country, but it was also a chance to meet other Bhutanese in a place so far away from home,” she said.
As an international student from a distant country, Pema explained how being homesick led her to further appreciate this opportunity created by the prime minister.
“Not only is Bhutan over seven thousand miles away, but we have a very small population of not even eight hundred thousand people,” she said.“Being a student living so far from home and my family is hard at times. That is also why I really took advantage of this dinner and event to connect with other Bhutanese and enjoy some authentic Bhutanese food.”
“This experience really served as a reminder for me to stay true to my roots,” Pema said. “The Bhutanese community is very strong and tight-knit wherever you go. While this is in part because our population is so small, it is also largely due to Bhutanese cultural values of hospitality and a strong sense of communal bond.”
Pema didn’t expect Prime Minister Tobgay to create such a casual, warm environment for the dinner as an important political leader. After the speech, he opened the floor to questions, which Pema thinks is indicative of his level of openness.
“The dinner reinforced the relationship that Bhutanese have with not just the government, but also with each other,” Pema said. “Before seeing one another by titles or positions, we see community and family first.”
“Being able to meet and interact with Bhutanese — some of whom were distant relatives and family — in a place that is half a world away from where we call home truly brought me a special feeling of togetherness.” Pema added. “The event reminded me why I am proud to call myself a Bhutanese.”
