PM Modi To Visit Nepal On The Occasion Of Buddha Purnima On May 16

Prime Minister Modi`s first Nepal visit after his re-election in 2019!

On the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set for another foreign visit. On May 16, the PM will be visiting Nepal, he will make a brief visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.

 According to Nepal Prime Minister's Press advisor Anil Pariyar, PM Modi will visit the Himalayan nation at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.

As per the information, Prime Minister Modi will pay a brief visit to Lumbini in western Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Lord Buddha's birth anniversary, the official said. It will be Prime Minister Modi's first Nepal visit after his re-election in 2019. 

The information also stated that Prime Minister Deuba is also scheduled to participate in the program along with his Indian counterpart. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, is yet to make an official announcement about the visit.

According to the sources, Temple trustees have told local media that the two Prime Ministers will take part in the lamp-lighting ceremony at the Mayadevi temple. The Ministry of External Affairs and security officials have already conducted a reconnaissance of the arrangements for the visit, as have Nepali government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Culture. Mr. Modi will fly from Delhi to the recently inaugurated Kushinagar International airport and then fly by helicopter to Lumbini, which is a short distance from the India-Nepal border.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship.

The landlocked Himalayan nation shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.