Gelephu Mindfulness City

What is Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) and what is its founding vision?

Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) is His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s global vision to establish an oasis of mindfulness and prosperity amidst increasing global uncertainties and geostrategic challenges. It seeks to offer the world a different path of development, through “Mindful Prosperity”, where traditional Bhutanese values of spirituality and harmony with nature, blends with innovation, technology and economic vibrancy. GMC also serves as His Majesty’s domestic vision to act as a catalyst to lead Bhutan’s administrative reforms and economic advancement under the concept of “

Where is GMC located, how was it established, and what is its governance structure?

Located in Bhutan’s southern plains bordering the State of Assam in India and spanning one million acres (or 4,000 km²), and comprising 10 percent of Bhutan, GMC was established by Royal Charter in December 2024 as a highly autonomous SAR. Through the Royal mandate, GMC is accorded full executive and legislative powers, with an independent judiciary.

Who leads GMC and what are its management principles?

Under the direct guidance of His Majesty, GMC will be managed by a global team to build an advanced economy by adopting and adapting the best governing policies and business practices worldwide.

What is the 'Diamond Strategy' and how are GMC and Bhutan expected to evolve?

Starting from 2025, Bhutan and GMC will implement His Majesty’s “Diamond Strategy” where both jurisdictions follow divergent paths in the initial two decades under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework. GMC is given full autonomy to take steps towards building an advanced economy from the ground-up, while Bhutan pursues its developmental trajectory. From 2045, Bhutan and GMC are expected to take steps to gradually remerge into an advanced economy as “One Country, One System” by 2065. While both Bhutan and GMC may have adopted divergent pathways under “Two Systems”, they will continue to coo

What makes GMC different from Bhutan and other jurisdictions?

What makes GMC different from Bhutan is the SAR’s highly autonomous mandate to adopt best-in-class systems or test new ideas in a sandbox in support of its goal to become an advanced economy. Importantly, under His Majesty’s direct guidance, GMC takes a long-term perspective, offers political stability and has the agility to do things differently. These include implementing laws, policies, incentives and systems to make GMC an attractive place to invest, work, live, and play.

What legal and regulatory frameworks support GMC and how do they benefit investors?

In actual terms, with the investor’s interests front and centre, GMC has adopted and adapted Common Law principles, using Singapore laws for corporate, commercial, and company governance matters (such as company law, employment, taxation matters and anti-corruption law) and Abu Dhabi Global Market regulations for financial services. GMC’s legislation is further supported by an independent judiciary with provisions for international commercial arbitration, when required, to provide assurance to foreign investors.