Vikram Misri Arrives In Nepal To Prepare Ground For PM Balendra Shah’s India Visit

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday for a two-day official visit, aimed at preparing the ground for Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s proposed visit to India later this month. The visit comes as New Delhi and Kathmandu seek to strengthen bilateral relations and advance cooperation on several fronts.

Misri was welcomed at Tribhuvan International Airport by Gehendra Rajbhandari, Joint Secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Sudhakar Dalela, India’s newly appointed ambassador to Nepal. He is visiting Nepal at the invitation of his counterpart, Amrit Bahadur Rai.

During his visit, Misri will meet senior Nepalese leaders and officials. He is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and hold bilateral discussions with Rai on Wednesday. He is also likely to meet Prime Minister Shah, who is expected to visit India in the last week of November, according to Nepalese Foreign Ministry sources.

The proposed trip would mark Shah's first bilateral visit to India since taking office as Nepal's Prime Minister in March. Preparations for the visit come against the backdrop of diplomatic differences between the two neighbours, particularly over the Lipulekh boundary dispute and Nepal's earlier remarks suggesting possible third-party involvement in resolving the issue.

India and Nepal are also looking to maintain momentum in their economic and development partnership, with trade, infrastructure and other areas of bilateral cooperation remaining important parts of the engagement.

Misri will return to New Delhi on Thursday after completing his two-day visit. This is his second visit to Kathmandu since he took charge as India's Foreign Secretary in July 2024.