NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Lord Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini in Nepal on Monday to observe Buddha Purnima. PM Modi will go to Nepal at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
This will be the Prime Minister’s fifth state visit to Nepal since 2014. PM Modi is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with PM Deuba.
While in Lumbini, PM Modi will offer prayers at the sacred Mayadevi temple and deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organized by the Lumbini Development Trust. He will participate in an inaugural 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.
“Prime Minister Modi’s visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Nepal in furtherance of our Neighbourhood First policy. It underscores the shared civilizational heritage of the people of both countries,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated.