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Mongolia is India's spiritual neighbour: Sushma Swaraj

Swaraj is the first Indian foreign minister to visit the resource-rich, landlocked country in the last 42 years.

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Sushma Swaraj with Mongolia Foreign Min Damdin Tsogtbaatar in Mongolia on Wednesday
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Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that Mongolia is not only India's "strategic partner", but also a "spiritual neighbour" because of the common Buddhist heritage.

Swaraj was attending a joint media briefing with Mongolian Foreign Minister D Tsogtbaatar after the 6th Session of the Indian-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation. The two countries agreed to explore ways to identify new areas of cooperation in all sectors of mutual interest and to enhance bilateral trade and investments, she said.

Swaraj is the first Indian foreign minister to visit the resource-rich, landlocked country in the last 42 years. She arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday.

Swaraj said India will reconnect with Magnolia through Buddhism. "Buddhism has been a great connector of civilisations since millennia," Sushma Swaraj said while addressing the birth centenary celebrations of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, a highly-revered Buddhist leader and monk from Ladakh and a former ambassador of India to Mongolia.

"Even though Buddhism originated in India, it spread across the mighty Himalayas to East Asia and across the seas in southeast Asia," Sushma Swaraj said. "Eventually, it also made its way to Mongolia where it found a permanent abode for over two millennia."

Stating that India is once again reviving Buddhist connections to bring together all those who have adopted Buddhism, Swaraj said that one of the efforts in this direction has been to link the Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India for fellow pilgrims from the neighbourhood and beyond, including Mongolia.

Stating that India has also offered to provide a statue of Lord Buddha to the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia as a token of the deep friendship between the two countries, Swaraj said India is also keen to invite Buddhist scholars and students "to visit India to discover our precious heritage".

Stating that India and Mongolia share a unique partnership, Sushma Swaraj said: "We are strategic partners, but more than that we are spiritual partners. This spiritual connection through Buddhism provides strength to our relationship. It is not a partnership of convenience but a relationship of trust and spiritual strength. Such partnerships, built on the strong foundation of friendship and mutual trust, are everlasting."

Till the early 20th century, Buddhism in Mongolia had met near-destruction without any signs of revival. But at the instance of Indian government, Bakula set up Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) with its headquarters in Ulaanbaatar in 1969. Later, he was appointed the ambassador of India to Mongolia in January 1990. He is fondly remembered as 'Elchin Bagsh' (Ambassador-Teacher) by the people of Mongolia. In 2001, when he abdicated the post, he was conferred with the Polar Star Award, Mongolia's second-highest civilian award.

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  • Stating that India has offered to gift a statue of Lord Buddha to the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia as a token of friendship, Swaraj said India is keen to invite Buddhist scholars and students “to discover our precious heritage”.
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