People attend a candle burning ceremony for peace at Bai Dinh Pagoda in northern Ninh Binh Province on Saturday night. — VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh
NINH BINH (VNS) — The 2014 UN Day of Vesak successfully wrapped up on Saturday in the northern province of Ninh Binh, with the adoption of a statement highlighting three sustainable development pillars.
The four-day event brought together nearly 1,500 delegates from 95 countries and territories worldwide, and more than 20,000 domestic and foreign Buddhist monks, nuns and followers.
Addressing the closing ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the UN Day of Vesak in Viet Nam has become a cultural festival complete with national and international solidarity and a message of peace and love based upon Buddha’s thoughts.
He further expressed his wish that, through this event, solidarity among countries will be boosted for more practical actions for peace, cooperation and progress.
Deputy PM Phuc also said he believed that the international community’s aspirations, as reflected in the Ninh Binh Statement, would be realised.
According to Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Secretary General of the International Committee for Day of Vesak, the statement stresses the need for tireless efforts to achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) and urges world leaders to focus sustainable development on the three pillars of environmental protection, economic development and social equality.
The statement also calls on political leaders to resolve disputes related to sovereignty, sovereign rights, territorial integrity and jurisdiction over exclusive economic zones and continental shelves through negotiations and other peaceful means, in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
A candle burning ceremony for peace was held at Bai Dinh Pagoda in the province in the evening, with the participation of about 1,500 people. — VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News