Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini, Nepal, in the presence of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday.
Modi is paying an official visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Nepal. This is Modi’s fifth visit to the neighbouring country since coming to power in 2014.
“Happy to be among the wonderful people of Nepal on the special occasion of Buddha Purnima. Looking forward to the programmes in Lumbini,” Modi tweeted.
Soon after his arrival in the country, Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba visited the Maya Devi temple in Lumbini to offer prayers. The Prime Minister will deliver a speech at the Buddha Jayanti celebrations organised by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Nepal government.
The Buddhist Centre is expected to be constructed at a cost of Rs 1 billion and will take three years to complete. Countries like the US, China, Germany, France, Canada and Thailand have already built their centres in Lumbini to promote Buddhist philosophy.
Bilateral talks
PM Modi will also hold bilateral talks with Sher Bahadur Deuba during the visit. The talks will focus on bringing soft power to the centrestage of India-Nepal relations.
Ahead of his visit, Modi had said: "We will continue to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.”
Officials of both the governments are expected to sign at least five agreements, The Wire reported. The Indian government has offered to set up a satellite campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Rupandehi. Agreements are likely to be signed by the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University and Lumbini Buddhist University on educational cooperation with Indian universities.
The two leaders are also likely to discuss pending projects such as the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, which is part of the Mahakali Treaty signed by Nepal and India in 1996. Among other pending projects, the two countries will discuss the West Seti Hydropower Project, a reservoir-type project, which has a projected capacity of 1,200 megawatts.
“Our regular and pending agenda will be discussed while both sides will pick up from where they had left off during Deuba’s visit to Delhi,” The Wire quoted a senior Nepal government official as saying.
The Nepalese PM visited India on April 1-3, which was his first foreign visit after taking charge as the premier.
Meanwhile, former foreign minister Kamal Thapa told The Wire that India appears to be strengthening its ties with Nepal amid the ongoing shift in the geopolitical landscape.
Experts believe that Modi’s visit to Nepal on Buddha Purnima is a fresh move by both countries to bolster India-Nepal relations that had faced hurdles during the regime of the former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Ties between India and Nepal nosedived in 2015 when India allegedly interfered in the constitution-drafting process of Nepal. India also condemned Oli's new map in 2020 that included some Indian territories.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
