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UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (AFP) - The foreign minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan told the UN General Assembly Tuesday his nation is progressing with their program of "Gross National Happiness."

"My country continues to be guided by our goal of promoting 'Gross National Happiness' as opposed to simply targeting the enhancement of Gross National Product as the end of development," Jigmi Yiser Thinley told the 57th session of the UN General Assembly.

In the shadow of the showdown between Iraq and the United States that has dominated much of the General Assembly's opening session, other countries, such as Bhutan, have quietly gotten a word in.

"We believe that it is the responsibility of the government to create an enabling environment within which every citizen would have a reasonable opportunity to find happiness," Thinley said.

The road to happiness in the Asian nation has four lanes, he said: sustainable socio-economic development, conservation of the fragile Himalayan ecology, promotion of basic human values and culture as well as the strengthening of good governance.

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