Nepal announces visit of Modi to Lumbini

Kathmandu, May 12

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country on Thursday.

At the invitation of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Prime Minister of India will pay an official visit to Lumbini on May 16.

The Prime Minister of India will attend the special ceremony on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti in Lumbini, the statement added.

During his official visit to India on April 1-3, Deuba had extended an invitation to Modi to visit Nepal as per his convenient dates.

"The Prime Minister of India together with the Prime Minister of Nepal will participate in a prayer at the Mayadevi Temple, lay the foundation stone for the construction of a centre for Buddhist culture and heritage at the Monastic Zone in Lumbini, and address the special ceremony to be organised to celebrate Buddha Jayanti at the Lumbini International Buddhist Meditation Center and Assembly Hall," said the statement.

Besides attending these functions, Narayan Khadka, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will call on the Prime Minister of India.

While in Lumbini, the two Prime Ministers will hold bilateral talks and exchange views on Nepal-India cooperation and matters of mutual interests.

The Prime Minister of Nepal will host a luncheon in honour of the Prime Minister of India and the visiting delegation, said the foreign ministry.

The upcoming visit of the Prime Minister of India will contribute to further strengthening the bilateral relations and the age-old socio-cultural bonds between the two countries, the ministry added this will be the fifth visit of Narendra Modi to Nepal as the Prime Minister of India.

Separately, Prime Minister Modi will participate in the "Shilanyas" ceremony for the construction of a centre for Buddhist culture and heritage, in a plot belonging to the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi within the Lumbini Monastic Zone.