kuenselnews

06/09/2022

Former Foreign Minister D**o Tshering received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold, and Silver Star from Japan's Ambassador to Bhutan Satoshi Suzuki today.

The Japanese government announced the conferral of the award to the longest-serving minister on April 29, 2021, in recognition of his contribution to strengthening the bilateral relations between Bhutan and Japan. The award couldn’t be presented in person then due to the pandemic.

Lyonpo is the first Bhutanese to receive the award from the Government of Japan.

Lyonpo served as the ambassador of Bhutan to Japan from 1999 to 2008.

23/08/2022

Open letter from RCSC Chairperson to civil servants issued today

21/08/2022

HMS launches tailoring course for its supporting staff

His Majesty’s Secretariat launched a specialized tailoring course for its support staff in the Elementary Service Personnel (ESP), General Support Personnel (GSP), and Operational (O) categories yesterday.
70 people employed across various projects and agencies under His Majesty’s Secretariat, who expressed an interest in learning to tailor, are participating in the 3-month long course.
This is part of a series of trainings that HMS is planning to offer its employees, as an opportunity for them to learn new, income generating skills.
The initiative is in accordance with Royal command granted to the civil service earlier this month, to explore suitable trainings for support staff. During an Audience to a group of heads of civil service agencies, His Majesty The King expressed concerns over the financial stability of civil servants in the ESP/GSP categories post retirement. His Majesty commanded that agencies create opportunities for their employees to gain new skills which they may be able to use to generate income later in life.
In line with this Royal Command, HMS piloted the tailoring program, which it was able to do in record time and with minimal expenses, using the resources from the HOPE project, which has conducted basic tailoring courses for wives of armed force personnel over the years as a Royal Project.
HMS hopes that these trainings, which it intends to carry out with prudent budgeting to avoid outsized expenditure, will enable employees to become more resilient and encourage a culture of lifelong learning throughout the public service.

18/08/2022

Bhutanese going to Australia is a new trend. It is a new trend because of the sheer number of people leaving the country. Is it a cause of concern? Yes, it is. No, it is not.

11/08/2022

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘅
3. What are the symptoms of Monkeypox?
Monkeypox illness often begins with flu-like symptoms:
- Fever
- Headache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Muscle aches
- Backache
- Exhaustion
Within 1-3 days (sometimes more) after the appearance of fever, a rash develops, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body.
Symptoms usually begin 7-14 days after infection, but it could be anywhere between 5-21 days. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.

Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan

10/08/2022

His Majesty The King granted an Audience to the 2019-2022 cohort graduating from the Royal Institute of Management today.
In an informal conversation with the 746 graduates and RIM staff, His Majesty spoke about our challenges as a nation, concerns over issues we face today, and our way forward if we are to secure a bright future for Bhutan.
Before addressing these topics, His Majesty shared some advice, especially for the younger graduates, who have much of their lives and careers to look forward to.
His Majesty said that to achieve all our goals and aspirations, it is of utmost importance to be consistent and persevere- with discipline, even our smallest daily efforts can add up to big results.
His Majesty pointed out that if a person works 8 hours a day for 30 years, they spend roughly 80,000 hours of their lives working. It is, therefore, important for people embarking on their careers to choose something they are passionate about, as they will be spending so much of their lives engaged in doing what they have chosen.
Finally, His Majesty advised them to choose a career that enables them to continue learning and growing- in these changing times, if we are not constantly upgrading our skills, we will invariably fall behind.
His Majesty said that Bhutan is going through a transformation because we have a window of opportunity in which to forever change the course of our future, and ensure that our children inherit a successful nation.
“There can be no greater act of compassion than to be strong, resilient and unwavering for the sake of our children’s future,” His Majesty said.
His Majesty’s foremost concerns were about the economy- individual prosperity is held back because of the size of our market and because of a lack of substantial export of goods and services.
While infrastructure and education are the foundations for building a strong future, these are our weaknesses at present, His Majesty said. There is a great deal of work to be done to improve physical infrastructure and our regulatory environment before planning a more vibrant economy.
We can no longer rely on hydropower to be our sole source of revenue, due to greater competition and uncertainty in the sector. In addition to this, the cost of delivering services in Bhutan is very high– there is a lot of inefficiency in how we manage public funds which are meant to the people.
These are challenges we need to address if we are to change the course of our future. However, His Majesty expressed confidence in the bureaucracy and government of the day to seize the opportunity and take whatever steps are needed to ensure that Bhutan is successful. His Majesty also expressed confidence in the people of Bhutan, who, above all, love our country, to make all the sacrifices necessary to take on challenges with strength and determination.
Our advantage, His Majesty said, has always been that Bhutan enjoys a degree of goodwill and interest from the rest of the world. There is a quality about Bhutan and her people which has inspired others to see us as unique and special.
This is a source for optimism, and something we must build upon. In a world where knowledge and skills are increasingly becoming cheaper and more accessible, values are still precious. In such a world, our true advantage is being dependable, reliable, and trustworthy.
This must become our anchor– something to build as our national identity as Bhutanese.
~
The 24th Convocation ceremony of RIM was held earlier this morning with the Prime Minister as Chief Guest. This was the first convocation ceremony held by the institute since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The graduates belong to Masters of Business Administration, Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management, Post Graduate Diploma in National Law, and Diploma in Financial Management. In addition, graduates from two additional courses- Graduate Diploma in Accounting and Certificate in Accounting, which targeted De-Suups in collaboration with the De-Suung Skilling Project, were also part of the convocation ceremony.

His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

09/08/2022

Starting tomorrow (10 August 2022), NECS in collaboration with De-suung Office and most of the agencies tagged below are conducting a mass cleaning campaign leading up the 23 Sept 2022 border re-opening and beyond. The program is aimed at managing our ever increasing waste problem by bringing on board all the relevant stakeholders including the general public. Please join us to help serve you better! 🙏

National Environment Commission
Zero Waste Bhutan Guide Association of Bhutan Bhutan Red Cross SocietyGuide Association of BhutanThimphu Dzongkhag Administration De-suung - Guardians of Peace Thimphu Thromde Tourism Council of Bhutan Clean Bhutan Bhutan Broadcasting Service Bhutan Toilet Org Dr. Toilet.Bhutan Taxi Association Prime Minister's Office - PMO, Bhutan Royal Bhutan Army HQs Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, Royal Government of Bhutan Royal Bhutan Police Greener Way Royal Office for Media Clean City Green Bhutan Services Waste Handlers of Bhutan Waste Warriors,Bhutan Royal Commission for Urban Development Thimphu Greening Initiative Royal Civil Service Commission, Royal Government of Bhutan Bhutan For Life Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation

15/12/2021

09/12/2021

His Majesty The King and His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo offered prayers and Karmi Tongchoed at the Kuenrey of the Tashichhodzong for General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, his wife Mrs Madhulika Rawat, and 11 armed forces personnel who lost their lives in a helicopter accident yesterday.
His Majesty The King and His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo have sent messages of condolence for the bereaved families, and the government and people of India.
General Bipin Rawat, who visited Bhutan several times during his career, will be remembered as a friend by the people of Bhutan.
The Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Chief Operations Officer of the RBA and senior officers of the Armed Forces, along with the Indian Ambassador, the heads of IMTRAT and DANTAK, and representatives of the Indian community in Bhutan, joined the ceremony to offer a thousand butter lamps.

07/12/2021

His Majesty The King offered prayers and Karmey Tongchey at the Simtokha Dzong this morning for Anthony Smith, CBE, who passed away in London on November 28th.
Anthony Smith was the President of Magdalen College, University of Oxford, from 1988 to 2005- a period which included the time that His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was studying there.
He was a friend of Bhutan, and helped strengthen Bhutan's relations with the United Kingdom, personally mentoring many Bhutanese students who went to Oxford.
His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck and other alumni of Oxford University, as well as those who knew Anthony Smith, joined the ceremony to offer prayers and a thousand butter lamps.