Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal arrives in Delhi, meets NSA Doval

In a sign of Kathmandu’s deepening security dialogue with India, Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday (June 5, 2026).

Mr. Khanal is the first Minister from Prime Minister Balen Shah’s Cabinet to visit India at an official level, since Nepal’s new government was elected in March to replace the interim administration that had taken charge after the September 2025 Gen-Z uprising against former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and his government.

Expansive agenda

“With Nepal, we have an expansive agenda, from development cooperation to people-to-people ties to trade and investment. All these ties will be discussed when the two Foreign Ministers meet. But on our side, we are keen to further strengthen this multifaceted partnership that we have with Nepal,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, announcing Mr. Khanal’s arrival at an official briefing.

Earlier, Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry had said that Mr. Khanal’s visit to India between June 5 and 7 would enhance cooperation “across key areas including trade, investment, connectivity, energy, and people-to-people ties”. Mr. Khanal had met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mauritius between April 10 and 12 on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference.

After meeting Mr. Doval, the visiting Foreign Minister was hosted at a round table discussion organised by the India Foundation on Friday evening.

Spotlight on border disputes

Ahead of the visit, Mr. Khanal met veteran Nepali diplomat Bhek Bahadur Thapa who has served as the coordinator of the Nepal-India Eminent Persons Group (EPG). Mr. Thapa also handed over the key of a box containing an EPG report prepared a few years ago, which had not been submitted to the political leaderships of Nepal and India. The EPG was formed after the blockade of 2015-2016, as a mechanism to discuss a wide range of issues including border disputes.

The dispute over Kalapani-Lipulek-Limpiyadhura was raised in the Nepali parliament last week when the Nepali Prime Minister mentioned it, while saying that both India and Nepal are in occupation of each other’s territory. While Mr. Shah’s critics in Kathmandu protested his admission that Nepal also holds Indian territory, his claim that the United Kingdom and China are parties to this border dispute also ttracted a rebuttal from the MEA.

Reviving dialogue

The last Nepali Foreign Minister to visit India was Arzu Rana Deuba, who visited Delhi in August 2024 and then again in December that year to participate in a think tank event. The downfall of the Oli government had paused high-level diplomatic engagements while Nepal was governed by the interim arrangement.

The Hindu had earlier reported that attempts were made to restart a diplomatic dialogue in the second week of May when Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was expected to visit Kathmandu. However, that visit did not take place due to Mr. Shah’s new protocol prioritising meetings with his political counterparts while avoiding meetings with visiting diplomats in Kathmandu. He had also announced that he will not visit foreign destinations during the first year of his government.

Earlier this week, Rabi Lamichhane, chairperson of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), also visited India and was hosted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr. Lamichhane met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Doval. He also visited the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya during his stay.