The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Prime Minister says focus is on strengthening implementation, expanding financial services and preparing Bhutan’s workforce for long-term economic transformation
The 10X Economic Roadmap is broadly on track in its first full year of implementation, with the government focusing on establishing the institutional framework, launching the first program, and preparing the country’s human capital for long-term economic transformation. Speaking during the 32nd Meet-the-Press, the Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay said it was too early to attribute measurable gains in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or government revenue to the 10X interventions.
He said the milestones for the first year were mainly institutional, aimed at building the governance and delivery mechanisms needed to implement the roadmap, activate the first program and lay the groundwork for human capital development. Economic modelling carried out by the 10X office indicates that Bhutan is broadly on track to achieve its 10X targets until around 2034 at the current pace and level of performance.
However, the Prime Minister said the real test would be whether the programs being developed could sustain economic growth beyond the hydropower cycle after 2034. He said the government was focusing on establishing the right delivery mechanisms to support long-term growth. The governance structure for the 10X Economic Roadmap has been institutionalized, with both the National Steering Committee and the Delivery Unit established as permanent structures to oversee implementation.
One of the first programs approved under the roadmap focuses on food products within the agriculture sector and is currently being implemented. Building on this initiative, the Delivery Unit is developing blueprints for the next portfolios of priority sectors. The government is also working on key enablers, including financial services, to support the broader economic transformation. The National Steering Committee has recognized finance as a product in its own right and directed the development of a dedicated programme for financial services.
The Delivery Unit is preparing a proposal to develop the financial ecosystem as an enabling portfolio that cuts across all eight priority sectors rather than treating it as a separate sector. The initiative aims to transform Bhutan’s financial system from one that primarily holds deposits and provides loans against property into one that actively mobilizes and allocates capital to support a larger, private-sector-led economy.
In September 2026, the 10X Steering Committee commissioned a Digital Economy Satellite Account to establish the digital economy’s contribution to GDP, employment, investment and exports. The assessment will provide a baseline before the digital economy is activated as a program under the 10X Roadmap. Meanwhile, the Office is also developing a National Human Capital Development Plan, which is in an advanced draft stage following extensive consultations and is aligned with the 10X Vision.
The plan will translate the 10X GDP target into specific workforce requirements, identifying the human capital needed to support the country’s economic ambitions. The Prime Minister said Bhutan’s people were the country’s most important strategic asset and the main drivers of the tenfold economic transformation envisioned under the roadmap.
