New Delhi: Ahead of his visit to Lumbini in Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that India’s ties with Nepal are “unparalleled” and my visit is intended to further deepen these “time-honoured linkages”.
“Our ties with Nepal are unparalleled. The civilisational and people-to-people contacts between India and Nepal form the enduring edifice of our close relationship,” PM Modi said in a pre-departure statement.
My visit is intended to celebrate and further deepen these time-honoured linkages that have been fostered through centuries and recorded in our long history of inter-mingling, he added.
During his visit to Lumbini, PM Modi will offer prayers at the Mayadevi Temple and he will also meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
He will be also participating in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone.
“I will be visiting Lumbini tomorrow at the invitation of Nepal’s PM Sher Bahadur Deuba,” PM said in a statement.
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, he said.
I also 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 hydropower, development and connectivity.
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. I will also be attending celebrations to mark the occasion of Buddha Jayanti organised by the Government of Nepal, he added.
