PM Modi to visit Lumbini in Nepal on 16 May on occasion of Buddha Purnima

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Lumbini in Nepal on 16 May on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

The Prime Minister will be visiting the neighbouring country at the invitation of Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. It will be his fifth visit to Nepal since 2014.

"At Lumbini, the Prime Minister will visit the sacred Mayadevi temple to offer prayers. The Prime Minister will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organised by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Government of Nepal," the MEA said.

Separately, the Prime Minister will participate in the "shilanyas" (foundation stone laying) ceremony 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, it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with his Nepali counterpart.

"Prime Minister Modi's visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Nepal in furtherance of our Neighbourhood First policy," the MEA said.

"It underscores the shared civilisational heritage of the people of both countries," it said in a statement.

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