Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said societies that are open minded, democratic and transparent are better suited to innovate.

Virtually addressing the sixth Indo-Japan SAMVAD Conference today, the Prime Minister said, discussions on global growth cannot happen just between a few and stressed that the agenda must be broader and growth patterns must follow a human-centric approach.

The PM envisioned that this decade and beyond will belong to those societies that place a premium on learning and innovating together. He said, innovation is the corner-stone to human empowerment and true learning should promote innovation.

Highlighting the importance of this SAMVAD forum to promote the ideas and ideals of Lord Buddha, Mr. Modi proposed the creation of a library related to traditional Buddhist literature and ures. He said, India is happy to create such a facility and the library will collect digital copies of all such Buddhist literature from different countries around the world.

He said, the library will not only be a depository of literature but it will also be a platform for research and dialogue between human beings, societies and man and nature. He added that its research mandate will also include examining how Buddha’s message can guide our modern world against contemporary challenges like poverty, racism, extremism, gender discrimination, climate change and many others.

 Stressing on the need of ‘SAMVAD’, the Prime Minister said, it should spread spirit of positivity, unity and compassion across our planet. He said, the essence of Samwad remains togetherness and this is the time to draw upon our ancient values and prepare for the times to come. He emphasised that humanism must be the core of our policies and harmonious co-existence with nature must be made the central pillar of our existence. He thanked the Government of Japan for their constant support to SAMVAD.

Ahead of the conference, Prime Minister Modi tweeted that this forum has grown immensely over the years and it has contributed to discourses around furthering global peace, harmony and brotherhood. 

The Samvad Conference revolves around the need to build the future of Asia on the positive influence of traditions of non-violence and democracy in Asia. The first conference, Samvad-I, was held in New Delhi in 2015 and at Bodh Gaya.