Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday left for a two-day visit to Nepal, the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to the Himalayan nation in 17 years.
Ahead of his visit, Modi said Saturday that he was "excited" about his visit that reflects the two nations' "shared heritage of nature, history, culture, spiritualism and religion".
The visit is part of the new government's initiative to forge closer ties with the neighbourhood and comes two weeks after Modi visited Bhutan, in his first bilateral visit after he was sworn in as the prime minister.
In a departure statement, Modi said he would "identify steps to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in key sectors, including trade and investment, hydro power, agriculture" which would open a new chapter in bilateral ties.