Indian Foreign Secretary Visits Nepal to Prepare Prime Minister's Trip

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will conduct a two-day official visit to Kathmandu from November 4 to 5, 2026. Invited by Nepali Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, Misri aims to review the full spectrum of bilateral relations and finalize the agenda for Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah's proposed visit to India around November 22. This would be Shah's first official bilateral trip abroad since taking office on March 27.

The diplomatic engagement follows the November 3 arrival of Sudhakar Dalela, who assumed his role as the Indian Ambassador to Nepal. Discussions in Kathmandu are expected to cover trade, energy, and security, including cross-border transmission lines and infrastructure. The visit also follows a late October coordination meeting between Nepal's Armed Police Force and India's Sashastra Seema Bal, which resulted in agreements to deploy drones, scanners, and CCTV cameras to improve border security.

While India remains Nepal's largest trading partner with $9.38 billion in merchandise trade for the 2025-26 fiscal year, the talks are expected to address sensitive border disputes, specifically the Lipulekh issue. Additionally, Nepal is expected to seek Indian assistance for reconstruction following devastating floods. The Ministry of External Affairs of India characterized the relationship as sharing "strong and friendly ties which have seen substantial progress across diverse areas of cooperation".