Janjivan Bureau / Yangon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the 2,500-years-old Shwedagon pagoda, considered to be the pinnacle of Myanmar’s cultural heritage, and performed ‘puja’ at the Kalibari Temple here. Modi paid his respects at the pagoda on the last day of his three-day first bilateral visit to this Buddhist-majority country.
He also planted a Bodhi tree sapling at the pagoda complex, signifying common cultural heritage, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
“Delighted to visit Myanmar’s cultural landmark, the Shwedagon Pagoda,” prime minister Modi tweeted.
The 2,500-year-old Shwedagon Pagoda enshrines strands of Buddha’s hair and other holy relics.
Located west of the Royal Lake in Yangon, Shwedagon Pagoda is considered to be the most sacred and impressive Buddhist site for the Myanmarese people. From a humble beginning of 8.2 metres, the Shwedagon Pagoda today stands close to 110 meters.
Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with hundreds of gold plates and the top of the stupa is encrusted with 4,531 diamonds, the largest of which is a 72 carat diamond.
Modi later paid his respects at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum and performed ‘puja’ at the Kalibari Temple.
“Performed Puja at Yangon’s Kalibari Temple. Feeling extremely blessed,” Modi tweeted along with a picture of himself at the temple.
He also visited Bogyoke Aung San Museum with Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi.
“I thank Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the special gesture of showing me around the Bogyoke Aung San Museum. Paid tributes to General Aung San,” Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for home after concluding his first bilateral visit to Myanmar during which he held wide-ranging talks with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and vowed to combat terror.
“My Myanmar visit covered significant ground in giving a much needed impetus to India-Myanmar relations & deepening bilateral cooperation,” Modi tweeted before he left for India.
“I thank the people and Government of Myanmar for their exceptional hospitality during my visit to the beautiful nation of Myanmar,” Modi said in another tweet.
Modi’s first bilateral visit here came at a time when the Myanmarese government led by nobel laureate Suu Kyi is facing international pressure over the 125,000 Rohingya Muslims that have poured into Bangladesh in just two weeks after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in the Rakhine state.
After his talks with Suu Kyi, Modi had said India shares Myanmar’s concerns over “extremist violence” in the Rakhine state, especially the loss of innocent lives of the people and the security personnel.
Modi, in his joint press statement with Suu Kyi after the talks, had said India understands the problems being faced by Myanmar. He had also asserted that it was important to maintain the security and stability of the land and maritime boundaries of the two countries.
After Modi-Suu Kyi talks, 11 agreements were signed between the two sides in areas like maritime security, strengthening democratic institutions in Myanmar, health and information technology.
Modi arrived here on the second leg of his two-nation trip after he travelled to the southeastern Chinese city Xiamen where he attended the annual BRICS Summit.
