The International Buddhist Conference got under way in Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, on Saturday.Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari inaugurated the two-day conference amid a function. Around  300 participants from 24 nations, including archaeologists, historians, Buddhist gurus and scholars, are participating in the event.

The International Buddhist Conference has been organised in Lumbini this year as the previous conference was held in Kathmandu.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was scheduled to inaugurate the conference but his arrival was postponed at the last moment, according to the organisers. He is expected to arrive here on Sunday. Chief Minister of Province 5 Shankar Pokharel also remained absent from the inaugural function.

The stakeholders expressed their disappointment at the prime minister and chief minister’s absence.

Chief Minister Pokharel, who was invited as special guest on the occasion, did not attend the function as Minister Adhikari was the chief guest there, a source said. Pokharel is senior to Adhikari in the CPN-UML ranking. Thirty-one papers will be presented in the two-day conference. Nineteen papers were presented on the opening day. The conference concludes on Sunday with a Lumbini declaration.