KATHMANDU: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Janakpur today on a two-day state visit to Nepal at the cordial invitation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel and Province 2 Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut received the Indian PM at the airport.

The Indian PM will pay homage at Janaki temple for around six minutes along with PM Oli.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has also reached Janaki temple to welcome his Indian counterpart. The two prime ministers would inaugurate the Ramayana Circuit and the direct bus service from Janakpur to India’s Ayodhya.

Oli is scheduled to fly back to Kathmandu after the Janaki temple programme, while Modi would attend a civic reception hosted by Janakpur Sub Metropolitan City at Baarhabigha ground in his honour. The event is expected to last for about an hour.

Modi will then fly to Kathmandu in the afternoon where he will be welcomed by Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, at around 1:30 pm today.

The Indian PM is staying at the Hyatt Regency in Bouddha, Kathmandu. Following his lunch at Hyatt, Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali will pay a courtesy call on the Indian PM and hold bilateral talks. Modi will then be escorted to Tundikhel where he will receive guard of honour.

He will then call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Vice-president Nanda Bahadur Pun, in separate visits.

The two Prime Ministers will then hold bilateral talks at Dwarika’s Hotel, followed by a joint press conference and remote inauguration of Arun-III hydropower project.

Indian PM's engagements for today would conclude following his dinner going to be hosted in his honour by his Nepali counterpart at Dwarika’s.

This is Modi’s third visit to Nepal since 2014, and follows the state visit of Oli to India last month. Modi had earlier travelled to Nepal for a bilateral visit in August 2014 and for the SAARC Summit in November 2014.

Janakpur has been decorated to welcome Indian Prime Minister Modi.

People are banned from entering Barhabigha, the venue where Indian PM Modi will receive civic felicitation and security has been beefed up. A large number of personnel of Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Indiansecurity agency have been mobilised in the area. As many as 45 special Indian security personnel to provide security to Modi have arrived in Janakpurdham while several others are yet to come.

More than 7,000 security personnel are said to be deployed to tighten the security in Janakpur. A separate security personnel team has been mobilised for the security of Indian PM Modi. The office of the chief minister has managed passes for VIPs.

Province 2 Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut is scheduled to chair the civic felicitation of Indian PM Modi and the programme will be conducted in Hindi language.

Minister of Defence Ishwar Pokhrel will deliver a welcome speech while Janakpur sub-metropolis Mayor Lal Kishor Sah will felicitate Modi in Maithili and also offer him the felicitation letter written in Hindi, English and Nepali.

Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut is scheduled to conclude the felicitation programme in Hindi. However, the government of Nepal has extended advice not to use Hindi language on the stage.

Meanwhile, Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal Chairperson Upendra Yadav, Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal Coordinator Mahantha Thakur, Minister Raghubir Mahaseth, CPN-Maoist Centre’s Matrika Yadav and Nepali Congress Vice-president Bimalendra Nidhi will also attend the function.