New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Lumbini next week on Monday at the invitation of Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, according to the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday.

This will be Prime Minister’s fifth visit to Nepal since 2014. According to a ministry statement, PM Modi will visit the sacred Mayadevi temple to offer prayers at Lumbini. He will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organized by the Lumbini Development Trust under the aegis of the Government of Nepal.

Separately, during his visit on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, PM Modi will participate in the “Shilanyas” ceremony for the construction of a centre for Buddhist culture and heritage, in a plot belonging to the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi within the Lumbini Monastic Zone.

Both Prime Ministers will hold a bilateral meeting, as per the statement.

The visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Nepal in furtherance of our Neighbourhood First policy. It underscores the shared civilizational heritage of the people of both countries.