Kathmandu, September 24
Prime Minister Balendra Shah is expected to visit India in the third week of November, with preparations for the visit set to begin after Shah and Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal return from New York, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The exact date has not yet been finalised, but discussions between Nepal and India have progressed to the point where the visit is being planned for the third week of November, a source told Onlinekhabar.
Shah and Khanal are currently in New York to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The two sides also discussed Shah’s proposed India visit during a meeting between Khanal and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The meeting was described as a courtesy call, with the ministers holding only preliminary discussions on the possible agenda for Shah’s visit.
“The meeting was a courtesy call, so there was no detailed discussion. However, preparations will move ahead rapidly once the delegation returns home,” the source said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said preparations were underway to arrange the visit at a mutually convenient time, but that the date had not yet been fixed.
Shah is understood to want the visit to result in some concrete outcomes.
Among the issues expected to feature in discussions are the longstanding Nepal-India border dispute and India’s approval for flight routes to and from Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa.
“The prime minister wants the visit to create a concrete foundation by reaching agreement on at least one of these issues,” the source said.
India had formally confirmed in July that it had invited Shah to visit the country. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on July 28 that an invitation had been extended to the Nepali prime minister.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also invited Shah to visit India in his congratulatory message after Shah assumed office on March 27. Shah had responded that he would visit India at an appropriate time.
Preparations for the visit have been underway for several months. Shah’s chief political adviser Kumar Byanjankar is also reported to have made an unofficial visit to India in late June in connection with preparations for the proposed visit.
Khanal and Jaishankar had earlier discussed Shah’s India visit during Khanal’s official visit to India in June. During that visit, the two sides held extensive discussions on trade and economic cooperation, connectivity, energy, water resources and people-to-people ties.
According to the Nepali side, the government had proposed first reviewing Nepal’s foreign policy and the various dimensions of Nepal-India relations before setting the date for a high-level visit. It had also proposed identifying bilateral priorities and using existing bilateral mechanisms for further discussions.
Nepal and India have more than 40 bilateral mechanisms covering different areas of cooperation. Sources said the two countries have agreed to activate these mechanisms and intensify bilateral engagement.
The agreement to strengthen these mechanisms was also discussed during the Khanal-Jaishankar meeting in New York, according to sources.
Shah had initially said after becoming prime minister in March that he would not undertake foreign visits for a year. He had also indicated that he would not attend the UN General Assembly.
However, following the devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi area, Shah decided to travel to New York, saying he would use the international platform to raise the issue of climate justice.
His proposed India visit would therefore become his first bilateral foreign visit since taking office. India has been among the countries maintaining high-level engagement with the new government, with Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava reminding Shah in August of Modi’s invitation to visit India.
