New Delhi [India], August 30 (NT): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left for Nepal to be present at the fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit 2018.

He is scheduled to get there at 8:30 am (local time).

The summit will be organized from August 30 to August 31. BIMSTEC, the regional group of seven nations which lies near the Bay of Bengal, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

According to the reports, on the sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit, Prime Minister Modi is likely to have bilateral talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Prime Minister Modi will be also handing over the sanatorium built in the premise of the Pashupatinath in Indian aid to Nepal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday stated that his participation in the event stand for the priority India treaty to deepening ties with India's extended neighborhood in Southeast Asia.

"My participation in the Summit symbolises India's highest priority to our neighbourhood and our strong commitment to continue deepening our relationship with the extended neighbourhood in Southeast Asia," PM Modi stated in a pre-departure report here.

"During the Summit, I will have interactions with all the leaders of Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) to further enrich our regional cooperation, enhance our trade ties and advance our collective efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous Bay of Bengal region," PM further said.

The Summit theme will be, 'Towards a Peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region’. This will enable India to shape a collective response to the common aspirations and challenges.