Nepal PM Balen Shah likely to visit India by year end

New Delhi: Nepalese Prime Minister Balen Shah is likely to make his first trip to India by the end of this year, which will open new vistas of partnership, said Swarnim Wagle, the country's finance minister.

Shah took over as PM after winning parliamentary elections earlier in 2026, subsequent to widespread student protests in Nepal last year that led to the fall of the previous government. Shah had earlier announced that he would be travelling abroad as the PM only starting 2027.

People in the know told ET that Shah could visit New Delhi in November following an invitation from PM Narendra Modi.


Wagle, also on his maiden visit to India as the finance minister, was speaking to a select group of experts and think-tankers at RIS, New Delhi.

The minister also spoke about possible industry-to-industry cooperation between India and Nepal and the Shah government's focus on job creation and industry.

Notably, the last wave of private investments from India into Nepal happened nearly 25 years ago. Kathmandu is now seeking a fresh round of investments.

Nepal is also keen to modernise bilateral trade and transit treaty. The transit treaty was revised on June 1, 2023, for a seven-year period, followed by an additional letter of exchange last November to expand rail-based freight and bulk cargo connectivity.

Wagle said his meetings with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar also focused on reconstruction work in Nepal following the devastating flash floods in August, and possible Indian support.

Wagle chose India for his first international trip due to the close bilateral ties and New Delhi's rapid assistance with rescue and relief measures after the disaster, said Nepal watchers. It followed visits by Nepal's foreign minister and chairman of the ruling party to India in the past few months.

Meanwhile, India Saturday dispatched another 11 tonnes of relief supplies to support the Himalayan nation's recovery efforts from the disaster.