Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, has initiated discussions with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities on building a Buddhist temple in that country.
Minister Sabry met Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday, December 4 on the sidelines of the ongoing Conference of the Parties (COP)- 28, Summit in Dubai, UAE and raised this issue.
The Minister made a special request to his UAE counterpart to allocate a suitable land in UAE to build an International Buddhist temple for the benefit of the large number of Buddhist devotees living and working in the UAE.
The setting up of an International Buddhist temple in the UAE, is a long-felt need not only for the large number of Sri Lankan Buddhists in the UAE but also for other Buddhist communities in the UAE such as Indian, Nepal, Thailand, Japanese, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Identifying the need for a Buddhist temple, the Foreign Minister made this special request and added that Sri Lanka will take the leadership to make this proposal on behalf of the entire global Buddhist community in the UAE and instructed the Sri Lanka Embassy to work closely with other Embassies with Buddhist representation towards fulfilling this important proposal. As a country with a forward-looking vision that promotes and reflects diversity and tolerance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of UAE welcomed the proposal and instructed the UAE authorities to partner with Sri Lanka to fulfill this vision of building a Buddhist temple. Minister Sabry thanked his UAE counterpart for the leadership taken in promoting inclusivity and unity, setting a great example to the entire world, and instructed the officials to coordinate the project with all authorities and stakeholders.
The meeting was also attended by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the UAE Udaya Indrarathna.
