KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Buddhist chief high priest Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana (pic) is headed to the Vatican City to attend a meeting on modern slavery and human trafficking with prominent world religious leaders on Dec 2.

The closed-door meeting is organised by Global Freedom Network (GFN), a non-profit organisation founded earlier this year, which dedicates its work to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking by year 2020.

The visit is at the invitation of Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Dhammaratana will represent the Buddhist faith and is the only representative from Malaysia invited to the event.

"I am honoured to be invited to participate and witness this important event. The meeting will also deliberate on an action plan to address the problem," he said. - Bernama. –The Star Online.