India To Host First-Ever Global Buddhist Conference Next Week

India is set to host the first-ever Global Buddhist Conference next week in New Delhi.

The two-day conference on 20 and 21 April will bring together prominent Buddhist leaders from around the world.

The theme of the event will be 'Response to Contemporary Challenges from Philosophy to Praxis'.

The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), an umbrella group that serves as a platform for Buddhists worldwide, is organising the event, reports WION News.

The conference will cover subjects such as Buddhism and peace, environmental crisis, health and sustainability, and the preservation of the Nalanda Buddhist tradition, as well as Buddhist pilgrimage, living heritage and Buddha relics.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the conference, where keynote speakers will include Professor Robert Thurman, a renowned scholar of Buddhism, and Thich Tri Quang, Deputy Patriarch, Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

Over 170 overseas Buddhist dharma masters from more than 30 countries are expected to participate in the discussions.

The even follows the two-day international conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on 'shared Buddhist heritage', a first of its kind gathering that brought together participants from Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Arab nations.