New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday the world is passing through challenges such as war, economic instability, terrorism, religious extremism, and climate change and asserted that Lord Buddha’s ideas offer a solution to these problems.

Prime minister noted that his government has constantly endeavored to propagate the Buddha’s ideas

Addressing the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist Summit here, he said it is the need of the hour that people and nations prioritize global interests along with their interests.

The world will have to think about the poor and countries lacking resources, he said. Modi asserted that India has been following the path shown by the Buddha and cited the country extending help to others, including Turkiye after it was hit by an earthquake, to say that it has treated every human being’s pain as its own.

The prime minister noted that his government has constantly endeavored to propagate the Buddha’s ideas and highlight the deep links Buddhism has with his birthplace in Gujarat and his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

The summit is being hosted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation on April 20 and 21. The theme of the two-day summit is “Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis”.

The keynote speakers at the event will be Professor Robert Thurman, a leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, and His Holiness Thich Tri Quang, the Deputy Patriarch of, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Professor Thurman was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2020 for his work on recovering India`s ancient Buddhist heritage.