Kathmandu, June 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Shisir Khanal, is set to pay an official visit to India from June 5 to 7 at the invitation of India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM), S Jaishankar, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.
The three-day visit to New Delhi comes on the heels of ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane's visit to India, which began on June 1.
Although Khanal held discussions with EAM Jaishankar and other regional leaders during the Ninth Indian Ocean Conference in Mauritius in April, this will be his first official visit to India since the current government was formed on March 27.
The foreign ministry said Khanal would hold formal talks with EAM Jaishankar in New Delhi during the visit.
“The two sides will discuss matters of mutual interest, with a view to enhancing cooperation across key areas including trade, investment, connectivity, energy, and people-to-people ties,” the ministry said.
It mentioned that the visit forms part of the regular exchange of high-level engagements between Nepal and India and is expected to further consolidate the long-standing and multifaceted ties between the two neighbouring countries. Minister Khanal is scheduled to return to Kathmandu on June 7.
A top ministry official told IANS that the two sides are scheduled to hold bilateral talks on June 6.
“During the visit, there are plans to discuss enhancing connectivity between the two countries in line with the priorities highlighted during RSP President Lamichhane’s tour,” the foreign ministry official said. “Improving railway, road, air, and people-to-people connectivity will be a major focus of the bilateral discussions.”
After meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Lamichhane said Nepal and India could build a partnership defined by progress and mutual trust by focusing on shared civilizational bonds, digital corridors, and seamless connectivity.
In a post on X, he said the RSP looked forward to translating these possibilities into reality for the people of Nepal and India for their shared prosperity.
“Foreign Minister Khanal will discuss with the Indian side ways to expedite the process on various issues,” the foreign ministry official said. The RSP-led government has previously announced its intention to focus on development diplomacy.
Nepal has long sought shorter air routes from India for the newly-built international airports in Lumbini in southwestern Nepal and Pokhara in western Nepal.
Currently, Nepal has only one major entry point from the southern border for most international flights, while Chinese airlines enter Nepal through Himalayan routes.
India has also conducted a detailed feasibility study of the proposed Raxaul–Kathmandu Railway, which could potentially be built with Indian assistance.
Although border disputes have made headlines in recent days following remarks by Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah suggesting that both Nepal and India had encroached upon each other’s land in border areas, the ministry official said the issue is not on the agenda for Khanal’s visit.
Border disputes have long remained one of the major irritants in Nepal-India relations. Both countries claim sovereignty over the disputed regions of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani on the outskirts of the Nepal-India traditional border in far west Nepal, which are currently under Indian control.
Nepali Prime Minister Shah’s remarks drew criticism from opposition parties, which argued that he implied Nepal had encroached on Indian territory — a claim India itself has never made.
The ministry official told IANS that Khanal’s visit would help set the stage for a meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission, a bilateral mechanism led by the two countries’ foreign ministers. Since the seventh Joint Commission meeting was held in January 2024, the two sides have not convened another session of the mechanism, which is supposed to meet every two years.
During the last meeting, the two sides signed a long-term power trade agreement paving the way for India to purchase 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal over 10 years, among other agreements.
“This visit could prepare the ground for the eighth Joint Commission meeting,” the official said.
The Kathmandu Post reported on Thursday that during Khanal’s visit, both sides would seek breakthroughs on pending projects such as Pancheshwar, the East-West Railway, the Janakpur-Ayodhya railway, Indian flights to Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports, and issues related to trade and transit.
Before Lamichhane’s recent high-level visit to India, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was expected to visit Kathmandu to engage with the new government and learn about its priorities, but the visit did not materialise.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz