Nepal, India ties will strengthen with PM Modi's visit: Envoy

Ties between Nepal and India will be further strengthened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes a two-day visit in the second week of May, Nepal's Ambassador to India said.

"We are very happy and looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi. Agendas of the meet are being prepared and will be out soon. Nepal and India are working in close cooperation to make this visit successful. This visit will create better understanding and help strengthen the relations between the two countries," Ambassador Bharat Kumar Regmi told ANI.

PM Modi will visit Janakpur, near Kathmandu, which is widely regarded as the birthplace of Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. This is going to be his third visit to Nepal in the last four years.

During his visit, Prime Minister Modi is slated to inaugurate a hydroelectricity project in Nepal. The 900 MW run-of-the-river project that is scheduled to become operational by 2020.

On Sunday, an explosion took place at the office of the Arun III project in Nepal, which has been developed by India. The blast damaged a wall of the building.

"The office was targeted by unidentified assailants earlier on Sunday, "Shiva Raj Joshi, Chief District Officer of the Sankhuwasabha said.

"It was a minor blast and the government of Nepal is investigating, but I don't think it will have any impact on the overall security of the project. The government of Nepal is fully serious and committed to the security of the project," Ambassador Regmi said.

This was the second blast within a month that targeted Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb exploded, damaging the walls of the premises, near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar. The police have launched a probe in both the incidents.

Talking about the blasts Regmi said both of the blasts were minor and an investigation is on.