Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal arrived in India on Friday on a two-day official visit, marking the highest-level engagement from the government of Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah since it assumed office in March this year.
Khanal is scheduled to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Saturday before concluding his visit on Sunday.
Welcoming the visiting minister, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the visit would help strengthen the longstanding partnership between the two neighbours.
“Continuing with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges, the visit will help further strengthen the special partnership between India and Nepal,” Jaiswal said in a post on X.
Speaking at his weekly media briefing earlier in the day, Jaiswal said India and Nepal shared an expansive agenda covering development cooperation, trade, investment, connectivity and people-to-people ties.
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“We are keen to further strengthen this multifaceted partnership,” he said.
Asked about recent remarks by Nepal's prime minister alleging that India occupied some Nepali territory, Jaiswal said all relevant bilateral issues could be discussed during the talks.
“Regarding border matters, we have already clarified our position and have a bilateral mechanism in place to discuss and resolve such issues,” he said.
According to Nepal's Foreign Ministry, Khanal's discussions with Jaishankar will focus on enhancing cooperation in key sectors, including trade, investment, connectivity, energy and people-to-people exchanges.
The visit comes at a time when both countries are seeking to deepen cooperation across a range of sectors while maintaining regular diplomatic engagement.
India and Nepal share close civilisational, cultural and economic ties, with frequent high-level exchanges forming an important pillar of the bilateral relationship.
Khanal's visit follows an invitation from Jaishankar and is expected to provide fresh momentum to ongoing cooperation initiatives between the two countries.
The visit also coincides with a separate trip to India by Nepal's ruling RSP's Rabi Lamichhane, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi earlier this week.
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