Indian foreign secretary to visit Kathmandu ahead of PM Shah’s India trip

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is expected to arrive in Kathmandu on November 4 to prepare for Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s planned visit to India, The Kathmandu Post and The Hindu reported. A senior official at Nepal’s foreign ministry confirmed the visit to the Post and said the two sides would discuss possible agenda items for the prime minister’s trip.

According to the Post, Misri is due to return to New Delhi on November 6 after meeting ministers and government officials; it was not clear whether he would meet Shah. The paper said the two sides are expected to discuss Nepal’s expectations for the trip, and that India is expected to announce new assistance, including economic support and aid for reconstruction after the recent Bhotekoshi floods. It also reported that several India-funded projects are expected to be inaugurated, with groundbreaking ceremonies for others being planned.

Sudhakar Dalela, India’s newly appointed ambassador to Nepal, is also due in Kathmandu to take up his post. The Kathmandu Post said he is scheduled to arrive on November 3, a day before Misri; The Hindu reported that he would arrive with Misri on November 4.

Accounts of when Shah will travel differ. The Kathmandu Post reported that, if all goes to plan, he will visit New Delhi most likely on November 22, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Hindu said Shah is expected to visit India by the end of the year. Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that no date has been set: its spokesperson told a press conference that preparations were under way at the diplomatic level and that the visit would take place at a time convenient to both sides, Nagarik reported. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle had earlier said, at the NDTV World Summit in India, that the prime minister could visit India by the end of 2026.

Shah took office on March 27. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated this week that Modi had invited him to visit India after he took office. New Delhi had first planned to send Misri to Kathmandu in the second week of May to engage with the new government formed by the Rastriya Swatantra Party, but that visit was postponed. The Post said protocol issues were cited as a reason, while the Indian side had told Nepal that Misri had other commitments.

The Hindu noted that Shah’s seven-month-old government is still dealing with the aftermath of the floods in the Bhote Koshi River while planning a series of administrative and political reforms.