GOA, 20 December – Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the elected political head of the Tibetan people, attended the three-day India Ideas Conclave 2014 at Goa from 19-21 December.

The inaugural session was attended by Shri Manohar Parrikar, Union Minister of Defence, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways, Shmt. Nirmala Sitaraman, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Power and Energy, Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of Finance, Shri. Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Minister of Goa; and Ms. Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman from the US. The keynote address of the conclave was given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Speaking at the plenary session on “Enduring Peace in South Asia” with former Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dasho Jigme Thinley, Sri Lankan Ambassador Prasad and moderated by former Ambassador G Parthsarthy, Sikyong, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, stated that Tibet is key for enduring peace in South Asia. He made the case based on spiritual, historical, geopolitical and environmental factors.

“Buddhism was introduced to Tibet by the highly acclaimed Indian masters of the Nalanda tradition. A culture of peace prevailed coinciding with the pacification of the military empire of Tibet. Historically Tibet maintained a neutral status, and at times followed an isolationist and hermetic policy,” Sikyong said.

“However, Tibet was caught in the geopolitics of the Great Game and was occupied by China in 1950. The occupation brought China and India, the two largest populated countries of the world, face to face for the first time in history. In 1962 India-China war broke out. Since then tensions remained between the two countries with border incursions occurring every year.”

“Environmentally, Tibet also known as the third pole is the main source of ten major rivers of Asia and the plateau affects the climate and monsoon patterns in South and South-east Asia. The Middle Way Approach of the Central Tibetan Administration is a win-win proposition for both China and Tibet,” Sikyong said.

The conclave, organised by the state government of Goa and India Foundation, was attended by over 250 eminent participants from around the world with parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists, educationists, security experts, and former heads of government of Jordan, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Lithuania.

Ms. Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Minister of India and Ms. Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa gave the valedictory address at the conclave, with Pujya Swami Dayanand Saraswati as the Convenor.