PESHAWAR: The biggest Buddha statue in the Peshawar Museum would be displayed at the Rietberg Museum of Zurich in Switzerland at an exhibition to promote religious tourism.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism and Museums Department and the Swiss government, the Buddha would be transported to Switzerland where it will be showcased at the Rietberg Museum to promote religious tourism, said a press release issued here on Thursday by TCKP.

Secretary Tourism, Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Tariq and Director Rietberg Museum, Zurich, Albert Lutz, singed the MoU. National History and Literary Heritage Division secretary Aamir Hassan and Heritage and Museums, Islamabad, director general Junaid Akhlaq were also present at the ceremony.

The MoU was part of an earlier agreement signed between the governments of Pakistan and Switzerland to open new avenues of cooperation in museums sector through capacity-building of museum experts, arranging exchange visits, conducting joint research programmes, etc.

According to the statement, after devolution of power in view of the 18th amendment the KP government was the first to ink such an agreement in museums sector with a foreign country. The Buddha statue would be displayed for about three and a half months.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2018