President Rajapaksa will visit the Charumati Buddha Monastery at Chabahil in the capital city of Nepal. He is scheduled to perform a puja at the monastery, according to a report in Himalayan Times.

Charumati monastery has been a symbol of historic relations between Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Charumati, a daughter of Emperor Ashoka who set up the Monastery 2,300 years ago, brought Buddhism to Nepal while Sanghamitta and son Mahendra brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

This is President Rajapaksa's second visit to Nepal. The President and the First lady in 2009 visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.