Nepal FM Shisir Khanal to arrive in Delhi on friday, hold key talks with Jaishankar

Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal will meet S Jaishankar to discuss trade, connectivity, energy and bilateral cooperation.

Published on: Jun 4, 2026, 22:16:25 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, New Delhi

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Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal will travel to New Delhi on Friday for talks with his counterpart S Jaishankar, close on the heels of a visit by Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane that marked a reset in bilateral ties after elections in the neighbouring country.

Nepal FM Shisir Khanal will be in India during June 5-7 at the invitation of Jaishankar and the two sides will discuss matters of mutual interest to enhance cooperation in key areas (Jaishankar/ Facebook)

Khanal will be in India during June 5-7 at the invitation of Jaishankar and the two sides will discuss matters of mutual interest to enhance cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, energy and people-to-people ties, Nepal’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

“As part of regular exchange of high-level visits, this visit will further consolidate the enduring and multifaceted bilateral relations between Nepal and India,” the ministry said.

After a hiccup in bilateral ties following the cancellation of foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s planned visit to Nepal last month when new Prime Minister Balendra Shah refused to meet him, Lamichhane’s visit and meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian leaders this week have helped put the relationship on an even keel.

Khanal’s visit is expected to be followed by a trip by Jaishankar to Nepal later this year, people familiar with the matter said.

Lamichhane met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin, Jaishankar and home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday and discussed ways to reset the bilateral relationship. On Wednesday, Lamichhane met Mod, who said in a social media post that he fully shared the RSP leader’s “desire to work closely together for a shared and prosperous future”.

Modi described Nepal as a “priority partner under our Neighbourhood First policy and we look forward to collaborating with the new government to elevate the special and multifaceted relationship between our two countries to greater heights”.

Lamichhane referred to his hour-long meeting with Modi in a social media post and said they had a shared vision “for a future where Nepal and India transcend past constraints to embrace a new era of development diplomacy”.

The two sides should focus on shared civilisational bonds, digital corridors and seamless connectivity to build a “partnership defined by progress and mutual trust”, Lamichhane said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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