PM Modi is in Nepal to attend the 4th BIMSTEC Summit. His focus will be to enhance regional connectivity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kathmandu today to attend the 4th BIMSTEC Summit, on the sidelines of which he will hold bilateral meetings with regional leaders, including Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
PM Modi was warmly received by Ishwar Pokhrel, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Nepal, on his arrival at the airport in Kathmandu.
PM Modi said yesterday that his participation in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Kathmandu signals India's highest priority to its neighbourhood and a strong commitment to continue deepening ties with the "extended neighbourhood" in South-East Asia.
In a statement before leaving for Nepal for the two-day summit, Prime Minister Modi said he will interact with the leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand on the margins of the summit whose theme is 'Towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region'.
He is scheduled to meet President Sirisena and Prime Minister Hasina today.
PM Modi being welcomed by dignitaries upon his arrival in Nepal for the BIMSTEC Summit
"I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and reviewing the progress we have made in our bilateral ties since my last visit to Nepal in May 2018," he said.
PM Modi said he and Prime Minister Oli will inaugurate the Nepal Bharat Maitri Dharmashala at the Pashupatinath temple complex.
The BIMSTEC Summit's theme, PM Modi said,will enable the member-countries to shape a collective response to their common aspirations and challenges.
BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The grouping accounts for 22 per cent of the global population.