PM Modi to have packed schedule of foreign tours from next month

Besides Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to travel to the US, Israel, Russia, Germany, Spain and Kazakshstan.

New Delhi, April 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a packed schedule of foreign visits from next month till July, starting with a trip of Sri Lanka.

Besides Sri Lanka, he is slated to travel to the US, Israel, Russia, Germany, Spain and Kazakshstan, officials told a news agency.

Modi will visit Sri Lanka in the second week of next month, mainly to participate in the celebrations marking the UN 'Vesak Day', the most important in the Buddhist calendar.

The 'International Day of Vesak' celebrations, to be held in Colombo from May 12 to 14, will include an International Buddhist Conference in which over 400 delegates from more than 100 countries will participate.

"The Indian Prime Minister has confirmed his visit," Sri Lanka's Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told reporters in Colombo today.

During the trip, his second to Sri Lanka since becoming the Prime Minister, Modi is also likely to visit Jaffna and Kandy, the officials said. Modi had visited the country earlier in 2015.

Vesak, the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, marks commemoration of Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing away. A

fter Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister will be travelling to St Petersburg in Russia to attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to be held from June 1-3.

Along with that, he is expected to travel to Germany and Spain on bilateral visits, the officials said.

Subsequently, Modi will be visiting Kazakhstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet to be held in Astana on June 7-8.

Significantly, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also expected to attend the Summit of the SCO, a grouping which includes Russia, China, Kazakshstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Thereafter, the Prime Minister is slated to travel to Hamburg in Germany to attend the G-20 Summit scheduled to take place on July 7-8, the officials said.

He will also be travelling to the US and Israel, for which dates are being finalised, the officials said.

PTI