NEW DELHI, Nov 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting only Kathmandu during his upcoming tour of Nepal for the SAARC Summit and has dropped the proposal to go to Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath.
“During his last visit to Kathmandu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed a desire to visit other places in Nepal, including Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath, to highlight, in particular, the strong civilizational links and unparalleled people-to-people contacts between our two countries.
There has been widespread interest in Prime Minister’s schedule in the upcoming visit to Nepal for the SAARC Summit. Due to the Prime Minister’s unavoidable domestic commitments and pre-scheduled travels within the country, he will travel only to Kathmandu to attend the SAARC Summit,” a statement from the External Affairs Ministry today said.
The statement said the Prime Minister deeply valued the special relationship between India and Nepal and would always welcome every occasion to visit Nepal and interact with the leadership and the people of that country. “He looks forward to an early opportunity to visit Janakpur, Lumbini, Muktinath and other places in Nepal,” it added.
Mr Modi’s stop-over at Janakpur was cancelled earlier this week due to security reasons after opposition parties protested over their non-inclusion in the local preparation committee. (UNI)
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