PM Modi is paying an official visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at the invitation of the Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal. This is Prime Minister's fifth visit to Nepal since 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the sacred Mayadevi temple to offer prayers. Prime Minister will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organized by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Government of Nepal.
In his departure statement, PM Modi said he looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again to continue to expand India-Nepal cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.
The two Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple. The pillar, which was erected by emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, bears the first epigraphic evidence of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Thereafter, the two leaders watered the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya which was gifted by Modi to Lumbini in 2014 and also signed the temple's visitor’s book.
"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," he added.
