International Buddhist Conclave: Opportunity to explore Indian Buddhist sites to global level
New Delhi, August 22: With a bright aim to explore the Buddhist destinations in the country, a three days “International Buddhist Conclave (IBC)” has been organized starting from August 23. This conclave will help to explore sites like Aurangabad, Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) at an international level.
President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the function with the presence of MoS for Tourism K.J. Alphons. The Conclave is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the State Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. During the inaugural session of the Conclave, the Ministry will launch its website and a new film showcasing the Buddhist sites in the country
The Ministerial level delegation from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka will participate in the conclave. The delegates from the following 29 countries are participating in the International Buddhist Conclave: - Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam.
International Buddhist Conclave 2018 will have a religious/spiritual dimension, an academic theme and a diplomatic and business component. Ministry of Tourism has invited senior leaders of various Buddhist sects, scholars, public leaders, journalists and international and domestic tour operators to increase footfalls to the Buddhist circuit in the country from other parts of the world, and participants from countries having significant Buddhist population including the ASEAN region and Japan.
The Indian Missions abroad have identified eminent Buddhist scholars/monks/opinion makers for International Buddhist Conclave 2018. The India Tourism Offices overseas have also identified tour operators/media etc. for the Conclave.
India has a rich ancient Buddhist Heritage with several important sites associated with the life of Lord Buddha. The Indian Buddhist Heritage is of great interest to the followers of Buddhism the world over. The aim of the Conclave is to showcase and project the Buddhist Heritage in India and boost tourism to the Buddhist sites in the country and cultivate friendly ties with countries and communities interested in Buddhism.
Presently, it is estimated that there are nearly 500 million Buddhists all over the World and the majority of them live in East Asia, South East Asia and Far East countries. However, a very small percentage of them visit the Buddhist sites in India each year. So the potential of encouraging more tourists to visit the Buddhist destinations where Lord Buddha lived and preached is immense. The “ASEAN” was the Guest of Honor during IBC, 2016 and Japan would be the ‘Partner Country for IBC-2018.