Ulster Is A Lesson for the World: Dalai Lama

The Buddhist spiritual leader added, however, that he would be leaving with much more optimism for the future here.

'Since my last visit certainly there was a development, now there's a new government. People previously fighting each other have now come together and are now sharing responsibility. That is a wonderful development,' he said.

He also said that the resolution of the conflict in Northern Ireland could have lessons for other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East.

And he called Derryman Richard Moore, founder of the Children In Crossfire charity, his 'hero' and talked at length about Mr Moore's meeting with the soldier who blinded him with a rubber bullet in 1972 when he was 10 years old.

Praising his forgiveness, and holding his hand at a Press conference in Derry, the Dalai Lama also said: 'He is my hero friend, whether he believes it or not, I don't know. He is really a wonderful son of humanity.'

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is in the city to speak at a two-day conference organised by Mr Moore's charity.

The conference at the Millennium Forum focuses on issues around the rights of children, gender inequality, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.