KATHMANDU: On the occasion of 2564th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has forwarded his best wishes and paid homage to the founder of Buddhism.

PM Oli shared, "Had it not been for coronavirus pandemic, we would be preparing for the International Day of Vesak programme as declared from Hanoi of Vietnam last year. Lumbini would be agog with activities with this event, an important programme of the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign."

He further shared about Lumbini Development Master Plan being implemented with the support of the United Nations. However, the PM also expressed regrets for cancellation of the International Buddhist Summit scheduled to be held in Lumbini on this day of Buddha Jayanti.

The PM reiterated that meaningful efforts were on to give a concrete shape to the concept of Lumbini as the World Peace City, describing it as the place of origin of the Buddhist philosophy.

"I express my deep condolence to all the people in the world who lost their lives due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, I wish speedy recovery to all those affected by the virus. I am confident that we will be successful in saving the human race by defeating this pandemic through joint global efforts and solidarity," Prime Minister Oli confidently shared in his message.