Dalai Lama welcomes Modi-Xi informal summit

Welcoming the upcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said the two countries do not have the ability to destroy each other and they have to live side by side since they are neighbours.

The Dalai Lama made these remarks while delivering a convocation lecture at Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management in New Delhi.

"I always insist, neither China nor India has ability to destroy (each) other. We have to live side by side, then (it is) much better to live friendly," the 82-year-old Tibetan spiritual head said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to be held in Wuhan city of central China on April 27 and 28.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed the development in a joint press conference, which he addressed along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday.

While answering a question on autonomy, he hinted that if China accepts their demand, exiled Tibetans may choose to live over there.

In China, Buddhist population is 400 million and many Chinese Buddhists are now already showing interest in Tibetan Buddhism, he said.

The Dalai Lama further called upon educationists to make policies regarding the inclusion of the ancient knowledge of the Indian traditions into the academic curriculum while saying, "some state (could) start it at an experimental level and then we will see."

The Dalai Lama along with his followers fled to India from Tibet in 1959 after a massive uprising failed against the Chinese forces.

(ANI)