Nepal Prime Minister Plans First Official Visit to India
Prime Minister Balendra Shah is planning his first official visit to India following a series of diplomatic meetings and Indian disaster relief efforts.
Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal announced that Balendra Shah is planning his first official bilateral visit to India, likely after the second week of November. The visit follows a formal invitation issued by the Indian government shortly after Shah took office on March 27. Coordination for the trip is ongoing to ensure the visit is result-oriented, with recent discussions held between Khanal and Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in New York.
The announcement follows a series of farewell meetings on September 29 conducted by outgoing Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava. During a final call at Singhadurbar, Shah described the relationship between the two nations as cordial and deep. He specifically thanked the Government of India for providing medicines, hygiene kits, and technical search-and-rescue teams following devastating floods and landslides that began on August 26. Those disasters, triggered by an avalanche, resulted in at least 1,453 deaths and an estimated $2.69 billion in damages.
Ambassador Srivastava also held farewell calls with House Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal and Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, who noted his contributions to cross-border infrastructure and energy projects. This diplomatic activity follows Shah's first foreign trip to the United States, where he addressed the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24 to demand climate justice for Nepal.
