The Bhutanese government is hopeful that the economy will see significant improvement and rebound strongly after the COVID-19 vaccination drive.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has projected GDP growth of 3.3 percent for the next fiscal year. But the Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering has expressed hope that the projected growth was the minimum and that it could touch 6 percent in the best-case scenario where the situation,  both within the country and in neighbouring India and Bangladesh, will improve significantly after the COVID-19 vaccination drive.

He reasoned that given its trading-based nature, the economy would recovery swiftly once export and import activities regain momentum.

“We are hoping that the domestic economy will improve significantly once the Covid-19 vaccination drive is completed,” he was quoted by the Kuensel newspaper.

The government is also pinning its hopes on agriculture and industries (construction and manufacturing) sectors to offset the impact of COVID-19 as well as for the revival of the economy.

“The agriculture sector is doing better although its share of contribution in GDP has been 10 to 11 percent only. Industries and construction sectors have already started doing better despite the challenges,” he said.