Kathmandu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Thursday 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 Premier Sheikh Hasina.

Modi was warmly received by Ishwar Pokhrel, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Nepal, on his arrival at the airport here.

Modi said on Wednesday that his participation in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation 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, Modi said he would 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’.

“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.