Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will preside over the opening ceremony November 1 at Chumporn Khatudomsak Buiding Convention Hall, Royal Thai Navy headquarters.

The summit will be hosted by Mahamakut Buddhist University.

The leaders of the two major sects of Buddhism--Theravada (Hinayana) and Mahayana--are expected to use the summit as an arena to exchange views and opinions for a better understanding and strengthen cooperation in propagating Buddhism for the sake of the happiness and peacefulness of mankind.

Moreover, group discussions on four themes provided will result in new knowledge being acquired and shared by all participants and then able to be translated into practice.

The topics are Buddhism and Information Technology; Propagation of Buddhism in the Age of Globalization; Buddhism: The Religion of Human Beings, by Human Beings but for all Sentient Beings and the Role of the Buddhist Community in relation to Terrorism and Natural Disaster.

Approximately 3,500 participants--Buddhist leaders and delegations from 23 countries--are expected to attend the summit: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand and Vietnam.

A Joint Communique signed by all participating Buddhist leaders will be announced at the end of the meeting.