Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Kathmandu this morning on a two-day visit to Nepal. He is accompanied by a high level delegation. This will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Nepal in 17 years and underlines Mr Modi's focus on priority to India's neighbourhood. The Prime Minister will hold talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala and will address that country's Constituent Assembly this evening, only the second foreign leader after former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Ahead of his visit, Mr Modi expressed hope that he will have fruitful discussions with leaders and lawmakers of the Himalayan nation that will take India-Nepal relations to even greater heights. In a statement, he said, Nepal and India are time-tested friends and the two nations share a common culture and heritage. Mr. Modi said, the two countries will identify steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key sectors, including trade and investment, hydro power, agriculture and agro-processing, environment, tourism, education, culture and sports. The Prime Minister said India is committed to continue its support to the neighbouring country in its development efforts and ongoing major projects for development of border infrastructure will usher in economic prosperity for the people living on both sides of the border and also enhance connectivity. Mr. Modi said the visit is significant in another aspect also as it will provide him an opportunity to pay obeisance at Pashupatinath temple on the auspicious occasion of Monday in the month of Shravana.