The III International Buddhist Forum will be held in the capital of Kalmykia.

The III International Buddhist Forum will be held in the capital of Kalmykia from September 25 to 28 and will bring together guests from about 35 countries. Delegations from China, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Republic of Korea, Belarus, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Uganda, Brazil, Bhutan, Germany, and Spain have already confirmed their participation in the large-scale platform uniting the global Buddhist community. The Buddhist regions of Russia, Buryatia and Tuva, will join the event. A special tourist train will be launched to Kalmykia from September 23 to 28.

"For Kalmykia, the Forum is an opportunity to contribute to strengthening the country's international prestige. I am glad that all Buddhist regions have joined the work, and the results are already obvious. It is important to emphasize that Russia is a multinational and multi–religious country that unites a huge number of peoples. We are proud of this – despite all the diversity, we are united in the face of challenges," said Batu Khasikov, Head of the Republic of Kalmykia.

The two main areas of the forum are business and cultural programs.

A rich cultural program will introduce the guests of the Kalmyk capital to the history and traditions of Buddhist peoples: on September 25, an exhibition of sacred Buddhist relics from the National Museum of the Republic of India and the exposition "Kalmyk Buddhist masterpieces from the museums of St. Petersburg" will also open. The exhibition will be based on works from the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, the Russian Ethnographic Museum and the State Tretyakov Gallery. On September 26, there will be a concert by People's Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Butman, the Moscow Jazz Orchestra and throat singer Vladimir Karuyev. Performing arts will delight a thousand musicians participating in the musical offering to the Three Jewels, which for the tenth anniversary will be held in front of the Central Hurul "Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha" on September 27. The international martial arts festival "Harmony of Strength and Spirit" and the Republican national cultural and sports festival "Jangariada" will conclude the forum.

The speakers of the panel discussions and round tables scheduled for September 26-27 will have the opportunity to form a common vision of the development of Buddhism in the new millennium. The agenda will include socio-humanitarian and economic topics: for example, the guests of the business program will speak at the sessions "Preservation of the Institute of Monasticism", "Perspective and practice of traditional medicine in Buddhist countries", "Philosophical aspects of Buddhism", "Development of Buddhism in Russia", "History of Buddhism in Asia".

"An important feature of the Forum is that it is not just a conditional gathering of monks, but a comprehensive, large event that will bring together several dozen major researchers from all over Russia and abroad. We look forward to a fruitful professional and scientific discussion. It is important for us to show that Buddhism is an integral part of Russian culture," said Alexey Maslov, President of the Foundation for the Promotion of Buddhist Education and Research.

A separate discussion will be devoted to the influence of Buddhist values on the choice of economic priorities. The speakers, including Roman Trotsenko, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novaport, with the participation of Konstantin Jimbinov, moderator, Deputy Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists, will consider a view on Buddhism in the economy of the 21st century and the intersection of Buddhist teachings with the current model of economic development.

The main topic of the discussion "The influence of Buddhism on the attractiveness of domestic and international tourism" will be the dependence of economic growth on the tourism potential based on the Buddhist heritage, spiritual and cultural values of the territories.

In total, the organizers have prepared over 50 events of the forum. The theme of the plenary session is "The Buddhist world in the new millennium."