Foreign Secretary Misri in Kathmandu to prepare Nepal PM Balendra Shah's India visit

India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri began a two-day visit to Kathmandu on Wednesday to prepare for Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah's first official trip to India, which officials in both countries expect later this month.

Mr Misri, who arrived at the invitation of Nepal's Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, was due to hold bilateral talks with Mr Rai and call on Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Wednesday, and is likely to meet the prime minister before returning to New Delhi on Thursday, PTI reported. India's Ministry of External Affairs and Nepal's foreign ministry announced the visit together on Monday, saying the talks would cover bilateral, regional and global matters.

What happened on Wednesday

Mr Misri was received at Tribhuvan International Airport by Gehendra Rajbhandari, a joint secretary in Nepal's foreign ministry, and by Sudhakar Dalela, India's newly appointed ambassador to Nepal, according to PTI. He also met Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle at the finance ministry in what the minister's secretariat described as a courtesy call. The two discussed "various aspects of economic cooperation between Nepal and India", the secretariat said, according to OnlineKhabar. Neither government had published a readout of the talks by Wednesday evening.

Mr Shah is expected to visit India in the last week of November, PTI reported, citing Nepal's foreign ministry; other reports say only the second half of the month. No date has been announced.

What Nepal wants

Kathmandu wants a substantial Indian assistance package to help rebuild after the 26 August flash floods on the Bhote Koshi river, progress on settling the boundary dispute, a revision of the bilateral trade treaty, and more air entry routes through Indian airspace for international flights, according to a report carried by Punjab Kesari and other outlets. Several joint projects are expected to be inaugurated during Mr Shah's visit.

The floods were among the deadliest in Nepal's recent history. By 30 August, Nepal's disaster authority had put the toll at 768 dead with more than 2,500 people missing, News On AIR reported, and Indian nationals were among the missing. India sent relief supplies, search teams and equipment in the days after.

Background

Mr Shah, who became prime minister in March, leads a government formed by the Rastriya Swatantra Party. India had planned to send Mr Misri to Kathmandu in the second week of May to engage the new government, but that visit was postponed, with protocol issues cited, according to the Punjab Kesari report. This is Mr Misri's second visit to Kathmandu since he became foreign secretary in July 2024.

The boundary dispute centres on the Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura areas, which Nepal included in a new official map in 2020 and India says are part of its territory.

Why it matters for India and Bengal

Nepal relies on India for most of its trade, and most of Nepal's overseas cargo moves through the ports of Kolkata and Haldia under the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit, and on to the Raxaul-Birgunj crossing. Nepal also borders Bengal's Darjeeling district, where the Panitanki-Kakarbhitta crossing near Siliguri links the two countries, so decisions on trade and transit reach Bengal's ports and border towns directly.

China has also expanded its infrastructure and investment ties with Nepal in recent years, and a new government's first official visit to New Delhi sets the tone for relations with India. What Mr Shah secures on flood reconstruction, trade and air routes, and how the two sides handle the boundary question, will be watched in Beijing as well as in Delhi.

What happens next

• Thursday: Mr Misri is due to return to New Delhi.
• Late November: Mr Shah's expected visit to India; dates to be announced.