The Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli, and his spouse will pay an official visit to Viet Nam and attend the UN Day of Vesak 2019 to be held in the country from 9 to 13 May at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli. — Photo Reuteurs

The Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, will also pay an official visit to Viet Nam and attend the UN Day of Vesak 2019 at the invitation of Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.

Vesak 2019, or the 16th UN Day of Vesak, will be celebrated at the Tam Chuc Buddhism Culture Centre in Kim Bang District of northern Ha Nam Province from 12-14 May.

According to the Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha, around 500 foreign delegations with about 1,650 members from 112 countries and territories will attend the Vesak 2019 celebration, together with 15,000-20,000 domestic Buddhist followers and people. More than 500 speeches by domestic and foreign scholars will be delivered at the event’s meetings.

The Vesak 2019 celebration is themed “Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies”. The UN Day of Vesak was first celebrated in 2001.

It will be the third time the UN’s commemoration of Vesak has been held in Viet Nam. Previously, it took place in Ha Noi in 2008 and the northern province of Ninh Binh in 2014.

(Source: VNS)