Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reached Lumbini, Nepal’s birthplace of Lord Buddha, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti. On reaching Lumbini, he was received by the Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba.
PM Modi is making an official visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at the invitation of Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. This is the fifth visit of the Prime Minister to Nepal since 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reached the holy Mayadevi temple to offer prayers. The Prime Minister will also address the Buddha Jayanti program organized by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Government of Nepal.
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In his departure statement, PM Modi said that he looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again to continue expanding India-Nepal cooperation in several areas, including hydropower, development and connectivity.
Both the Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar adjacent to the temple. The pillar, erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, is the first epigraphic record of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Thereafter, the two leaders watered the Bodhi tree from Bodh Gaya, which Modi had gifted to Lumbini in 2014, and also signed the visitor’s book of the temple.
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“Our relations with Nepal are unique. The civilizational and people-to-people contacts between India and Nepal are an enduring building of our close ties,” he said.