Modi to visit only Kathmandu during Nepal trip

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will make a two-day trip to Kathmandu to attend the 18th SAARC Summit, will not travel to any other places in Nepal during the visit.

According to reports, Modi had, during his last visit to Kathmandu on August 3-4, expressed a desire to visit otherplaces in Nepal, including Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath, to highlight the strong civilisational links and unparallelel people-to-people contacts between the two countries. 
 
“There has been widespread interest in Prime Minister’s schedule in the upcoming visit to Nepal for the SAARC summit,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said in response to a question on Sunday.
 
“Due to Prime Minister’s unavoidable domestic commitments and pre-scheduled travels within the country, he will travel only to Kathmandu to attend the SAARC Summit,” he said.
 
“Prime Minister deeply values the special relationship between India and Nepal and will always welcome every occasion to visit Nepal and interact with the leadership and the people of Nepal. He looks forward to an early opportunity to visit Janakpur, Lumbini, Muktinath and other places in Nepal,” he added.
 
The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) brings together India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan.