Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering has said he is a surgeon first and forever and that politics is only a passing phase in his life.

"Surgeons operate with a knife and I have the advantage of operating with the pen as a politician and with a knife as a surgeon. I am a surgeon first and forever. Politics is only a passing phase in my life," he said in his virtual address at the 80th Annual Conference of the Association of Surgeons of India (ASI).

He said that it is important to be good human beings first and later a good surgeon and it is important to adhere to the Hippocratic oath.

Tshering spoke about Gross National Happiness (GNH), which is a philosophy that has been the guiding force for Bhutan and aims for collective happiness and wellbeing of a population. He urged the surgical fraternity to serve selflessly for the greater good of humanity.

He complimented ASI president, Dr. P. Raghu Ram, for his outstanding leadership.

Earlier, in his presidential address, the ASI president said that in the 82-year-long history of the association, it was for the first time that the prime minister of a country graced an important ASI ceremony as the chief guest.

He said the Prime Minister of Bhutan was an epitome of simplicity, who was transforming Bhutan and he would hopefully serve as an inspiration to close to well over 6,000 surgeons participating in the three-day conference.

(IANS)