UN Day of Vesak a success

The 2014 UN Day of Vesak successfully wrapped up in the northern province of Ninh Binh with the adoption of a statement highlighting three sustainable development pillars.
The four-day event gathered 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 Vietnam has become a cultural festival full of national and international solidarity with a message of peace and love on the basis of Buddha’s thought.
He expressed his wish that through this event, the solidarity among countries will be boosted for more practical actions for peace, cooperation and progress of the mankind.
He said he believes that the international community’s fine aspirations reflected in the Ninh Binh Statement will be realised.
According to Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Secretary General of the International Committee for Day of Vesak, the statement stresses tireless efforts to reach 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 right, 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 will be held at Bai Dinh Pagoda in the province on May 10 evening, with the participation of about 1,500 people.