Indian prime minister to receive Seoul Peace Prize

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been chosen as the winner of this year's Seoul Peace Prize for his contribution to world peace through his economic vision, a related panel announced Wednesday. It cited Modi's accomplishments, highlighted by Modinomics, including the country's high-rate economic growth and an improvement in the life of Indian people. He is also credited with promoting global peace on the basis of economic cooperation with other countries, it added. He made "great contributions to the stability of the Asia-Pacific region by pushing for brisk diplomacy and fostering international cooperation," the panel said. The award was created in 1990 in commemoration of the Seoul Olympics two years earlier. Juan Antonio Samaranch, former chairman of the International Olympic Committee, was the first recipient. Other winners include former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former U.S. Secretary of State George Pratt Shultz. lcd@yna.co.kr (END)