Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s ties with Nepal are unparalleled and the civilisational and people-to-people contacts between the two countries ”form the enduring edifice of our close relationship.”
The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Lumbini on May 16 to participate in the celebrations of Buddha Jayanti organised by the Government of Nepal.
In his statement ahead of the visit, PM Modi said, “I look forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again after our productive discussions during his visit to India last month. We will continue to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.”
“My visit is intended to celebrate and further deepen these time-honoured linkages between India and Nepal that have been fostered through centuries and recorded in our long history of inter-mingling,” he explained.
“I look forward to offering prayers at the Mayadevi Temple on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti. I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of millions of Indians to pay reverence at the sacred site of Lord Buddha's birth… Apart from visiting the holy Mayadevi Temple, I will be participating in "Shilanyas" ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone,” PM Modi said.
