The 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, will attend the Second World Buddhist Forum that is to open in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi Saturday, a forum spokesman said Friday.

"He will attend the opening ceremony tommorrow," said Ming Sheng, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, at a press conference.

He would not provide further details.

The forum, with the theme "A harmonious world, a synergy of conditions," was jointly organized by the Buddhist Association of China, the Buddha's Light International Association, the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, and the China Religious Culture Communication Association.

More than 1,000 Buddhist monks and scholars from about 50 countries and regions will attend the forum and discuss how to build a harmonious world.

The five-day forum will be held in two parts. The first part will be held from March 28-29 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The participants will move from Nanjing to Taipei by four direct charter flights on March 30, where the second part of the forum will be held from March 31-April 1, Ming Sheng said.

The 11th Panchen Lama attended the First World Buddhist Forum held in the eastern Chinese cities of Hangzhou and Zhoushan in April 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)