RUPANDEHI, Sept 1: Visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has announced his government's readiness to support completing the Lumbini Master Plan, if a proposal was floated from the Government of Nepal.
The Sri Lankan President made such announcement during his visit to Lubmini, the birth place of Lord Buddha on Saturday. The President of Sri Lanka, who arrived in Nepal to attend the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit, visited the birth place of Lord Buddha after completing the Summit.
FinMin seeks int'l support to develop Lumbini's master plan
At a special function organized in Lumbini, top level officials of Sri Lanka's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced the support on behalf of the President of Sri Lanka for the development and completion of the Lumbini master plan.
On the occasion, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari shared that arrival of Sri Lankan tourists in Nepal is in the third position followed by India and China adding that 50,000 Sri Lankans visited Nepal last year.
Adhikari, however, said that the tourist arrival is yet to increase remarkably due to absence of direct air service between Nepal and Sri Lanka. He hoped that the people to people relations between the two countries would further deepen after the operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport next year. RSS
