India-Nepal step up engagement ahead of Balen Shah’s maiden visit

Ahead of Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah’s India visit, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Foreign Affairs Minister Shisir Khanal and Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai in Kathmandu on Wednesday, as they discussed “connectivity, trade, development cooperation, energy and people-to-people relations”.

Misri is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shah — who is expected to visit India from November 22 to 24 — on Thursday to give a formal and final shape to his likely visit. If the visit materialises, this will be Shah’s first to any neighbouring country after assuming office in March.

On the meeting between the two foreign secretaries, the Nepalese foreign ministry said on X the bilateral talks covered the entire gamut of Nepal-India relations, “including exchange of high-level visits, connectivity, trade, development cooperation, energy and people-to-people relations, underscoring the strong bond between the two countries”.

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Nepal said Misri held talks on a range of issues of mutual interest with his Nepalese counterpart in preparation for Prime Minister Shah’s visit. Misri, who is in Nepal on a two-day visit at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Rai, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and discussed prospects for expanding the multifaceted bilateral partnership presented by upcoming high-level engagements, it added.

According to Nepal’s foreign ministry, various matters related to further deepening the multifaceted partnership and strengthening the age-old ties were discussed. Khanal said the close relations between Nepal and India “will gain new heights”, according to the ministry.

The two sides discussed various aspects of bilateral cooperation, including energy, trade, sports and education, with a focus on further strengthening multifaceted relations and deepening the historical friendship between the two countries, it added.

Earlier in the day, Misri was welcomed at the airport by India’s new Ambassador Sudhakar Dalela along with the officials of Nepal’s Foreign Ministry and Indian Embassy. Ambassador Dalela arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday and will soon be presenting his credentials to the President of Nepal.

Misri also paid a courtesy call on Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and discussed economic collaboration between the two countries. In September, Wagle’s visit to India was part of Kathmandu’s efforts to make up for its earlier actions —Nepal Prime Minister Shah had not met then Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava for some months (aside from a joint call on by a group of foreign ambassadors based in Kathmandu), and his subsequent reluctance to meet Foreign Secretary Misri in May, which resulted in the latter’s visit being cancelled.

In early September, the Nepal PM thanked India for its timely assistance in the aftermath of the flash floods that left more than 1,200 dead and thousands missing. The course correction in ties, according to sources, had begun before the flash flood struck.

In June, Nepal’s top leader Rabi Lamichhane of the ruling Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) visited New Delhi. During his visit, Lamichhane had met PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 27 years...

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