PM Modi to Visit Nepal on Buddha Purnima, in Order, to Improve Ties

This Monday, on the day of Buddha Purnima and will mark a new milestone in the India-Nepal relationship as Prime Minister Narendra ?Modi travels to Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, for a bilateral with his Nepali counterpart? Sher Bahadur Deuba?. He will also attend a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a center for Buddhist culture and heritage.

This is going to be PM Modi's fifth visit to Nepal since 2014 and also the first by any Indian Prime Minister to Lumbini.

India will be constructing a path to connect the two major pilgrimage sites on Buddhism's so-called "Buddhist circuit" that encompasses 18 places in India and Nepal, according to government reports.

The Maya Devi Temple is a place of worship for the goddess Maya. Visiting the Maya Devi Temple, PM Modi will participate in a religious ceremony which is held by Buddhist monks within the temple's adhyatmik zone. As India wishes to help with the reconstruction and development of Lumbini and its surrounding areas, PM Modi will be present at this ceremony as well, where he will give an address relating to Buddhism to visitors below. The prime minister will lay down some bricks for a 'Buddhist Centre' near the Maya Devi Temple grounds as well.

PM Modi and Nepalese PM Deuba will hold a bilateral meeting in Lumbini. After that, PM Modi and Deuba will attend a lunch hosted by the Nepalese Prime Minister. Then, Modi will leave for Kushinagar to inaugurate a series of developmental projects constructed in partnership with the Centre's aid.

Just one month ago, Mr. Deuba went on a three-day visit to India. It was the first visit from a Nepali prime minister to India in quite some time, and it was considered by experts a fresh step forward in building mutual trust between both states and boosting ties. There had been many obstacles in addition to differences of opinion between India and Nepal during the term of the previous Prime Minister Oli, who, incidentally, is also Indian.

Both India and Nepal have not yet specified agendas for meetings to be held between the two nations. However, as per sources, five agreements are expected to be struck on Monday by the officials representing each country.

The prominent ones among them are- the Indian Education and Cultural Foundation will sign one MoU each with Tribhuvan University and Lumbini Buddhist University and three MoUs with Kathmandu University.

Nepal will ask India to support its power projects. The prime ministers of both nations signed a joint vision statement on the subject during Mr. Deuba's visit. Under the joint declaration, long-term plans for electrical power usage in both countries will be drafted in order to avoid any potential shortages before they even occur.

Although, India is looking to bolster its relations with Nepal and invest more as China has the highest foreign direct investment or FDI in Nepal.

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