Foreign secretary Vikram Misri to prepare ground for Nepal PM's India trip

New Delhi: Foreign secretary Vikram Misri will visit Kathmandu next week to prepare for Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah's late-November visit to India, in what would be the first PM-level visit since the new dispensation was elected to power earlier this year.

During Misri's upcoming visit, the two sides are expected to discuss potential outcomes and Nepal's expectations for Shah's trip to India, according to people familiar with the matter. Several India-funded projects are expected to be inaugurated during Shah's visit, while groundbreaking ceremonies for other India-funded projects are also being planned, the people said. This will be Shah's maiden bilateral trip abroad as PM.

The projects that could be inaugurated during Shah's visit include the Nepal Police Academy in Panauti, Kavrepalanchok, a bridge in Darchula, the integrated check post in Bhairahawa and a motorable bridge over the Mahakali River in Nepal. The two leaders are also expected to jointly mark the start of construction on the integrated check post in Dodhara Chandani, the Lower Arun hydropower project and a petroleum pipeline extending from Siliguri in India to Jhapa in Nepal.


India is also likely to announce new assistance, including financial support for Nepal and aid for reconstruction following the recent Bhotekoshi floods. Meanwhile, Nepal is expected to seek India's support for new hydel power projects. Nepal is seeking fresh Indian investments in not only the hydel power sector but also the hospitality sector.

Unlike the BNP government in Bangladesh, the Shah-led government has been forthcoming in engaging with India, with the ruling party chairman and the top three ministers making visits here to seek support and partnership. There is genuine interest from the Shah government to expand ties, reciprocating the Modi government's efforts to build relations with the first-timers in Kathmandu. However, a section of the establishment in Dhaka has raised anti-India rhetoric, forcing the PM to go slow while engaging with New Delhi.