Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal arrives in Delhi and meets NSA Doval & more related news here

In a sign of Kathmandu’s deepening security dialogue with India, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal met National Security Advisor 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 over after the September 2025 Generation Z uprising against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his government.

Expansive agenda

“With Nepal we have a broad agenda, from development cooperation to people-to-people ties to trade and investment. All these links will be discussed when the two Foreign Ministers meet. But for our part, we are interested in further strengthening 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 ministry had said Khanal’s visit to India between June 5 and 7 would enhance cooperation “in key areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, energy and people-to-people ties.” Mr. Khanal 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 invited to a panel discussion organized by the India Foundation on Friday evening.

Focus on border disputes

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

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

Reliving the dialogue

The last Nepalese 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 fall of the Oli government put high-level diplomatic engagements on hold while Nepal was governed by the interim agreement.

The Hindu had earlier reported that attempts had been 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 that prioritizes meetings with his political counterparts and avoids 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, president of Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), also visited India and was welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr. Lamichhane met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Doval. He also visited Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya during his stay.