Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry has indicated that Prime Minister Balendra Shah's visit to New Delhi, tentatively scheduled for around late November, will involve Kathmandu presenting India with a wide-ranging request for bilateral support.
No formal announcement from either Nepal or India has set a travel date, though officials at the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry indicated that Shah's departure for New Delhi would most likely fall on 22 or 23 November. The Prime Minister's press advisor, Dipa Dahal, told a broadcaster that the visit would take place toward the end of November, with the duration of the stay still to be determined, while the Foreign Ministry had yet to put a specific date to the Indian side.
New Delhi extended an invitation to Shah for an official visit after he took the oath of office as Nepal's Prime Minister — a position he assumed following the parliamentary vote held on 5 March, with his swearing-in completing the transition on 27 March. New York hosted Shah for the 81st United Nations General Assembly in September, marking the only trip abroad he had made by that point.
Data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority put the death toll from flooding that swept through Nepal on 26 August at nearly 1,500, with more than 5,000 people yet to be accounted for — circumstances forming the backdrop against which the New Delhi visit is being arranged. Across the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river valleys, surging waters tore apart homes, knocked out hydropower facilities, and severed road and bridge connections, with damage assessments pointing to a reconstruction cost stretching into the billions.
That figure surfaced alongside a Foreign Ministry official's disclosure that Nepal had been seeking a broad assistance package from India even before the floods struck, though no specific amount was named. A government representative conveyed that aid with fewer attached preconditions would allow programmes to take hold more quickly and deliver tangible outcomes on the ground.
On top of routine budgetary grants flowing from India to Nepal, Kathmandu has drawn heavily on Indian lines of credit for various development needs — among them the rebuilding effort that followed the devastating 2015 earthquake, for which New Delhi put forward a pledge of US$1 billion. Data published on the Indian Embassy's website shows that Nepal is drawing on four separate lines of credit — valued at US$100 million, US$250 million, US$550 million, and US$750 million respectively — whose combined worth reaches US$1.65 billion. Funding through these lines of credit flows toward infrastructure schemes that Nepal's government has placed at the top of its development agenda.
Loans extended under the Export-Import Bank of India's financing arrangements carry a stipulation that a set proportion of the materials and parts involved have their origin within India.
Nepal's position, as relayed by the Foreign Ministry official, encompassed a push for movement on unresolved border questions alongside a financial package of substance, with tangible advances in energy, trade and transit, and air services also forming part of the expected agenda. Territorial disagreements over Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura have continued to strain the relationship between the two countries. The area sits at the heart of a territorial dispute, with Nepal asserting a claim over land that falls within India's Uttarakhand state.
Roughly nine in ten international flights reach Nepal through a solitary, heavily trafficked gateway above Simara in the country's south, a bottleneck that has prompted Kathmandu to push for additional entry corridors through Indian airspace. Roughly ten years have passed since Nepal began pushing for expanded air corridors — access that both Pokhara, in the country's west, and Bhairahawa, further to the southwest, depend on to function as fully operational international gateways. Approval for low-altitude flight paths through Nepal's western and eastern corridors has not been forthcoming from Indian authorities, who point to the vulnerability of nearby defence installations — among them the Gorakhpur air base — alongside the broader difficulties of managing airspace in that zone. Three border crossings — at Janakpur, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj — have been put forward by Nepal as additional entry points.
A revision of the bilateral trade agreement between Nepal and India — last automatically renewed in 2023 — is among the matters Kathmandu has put forward for early consideration. The agreement carries a built-in seven-year renewal cycle, which takes effect without action unless one of the parties formally lodges a reservation. Adjustments to individual articles, protocols, or provisions remain possible at any point, provided both parties agree — whether through formal amendment or an exchange of letters.
Removing trade obstacles tied to the Bureau of Indian Standards certification requirement — a condition placed on Nepali exporters before their goods can enter the Indian market — forms part of what Kathmandu has put forward as a bilateral priority. Exporters of cement, steel, plywood, footwear, sanitary pads, diapers, and electrical wires from Nepal have flagged that the paperwork and waiting time tied to this requirement add friction to their trade operations.
Among the infrastructure works set to be formally opened during the visit are several projects constructed with Indian funding — among them a police training academy near Panauti in Kavrepalanchok district, a road bridge in Darchula, a joint border checkpoint at Bhairahawa, and a motorable crossing spanning the Mahakali River. Three infrastructure ventures — groundbreaking ceremonies for an integrated check post at Dodhara Chandani, the Lower Arun hydropower project, and a fuel pipeline running between Siliguri and Jhapa — are scheduled to be launched jointly by the two prime ministers, according to news reports.
Three hydropower schemes — the 750-MW West Seti, the 480-MW Phukot Karnali, and the 450-MW Seti River-6 — are among the projects Nepal is weighing for inclusion on the agenda. NHPC, the government-owned utility, holds a stake in each of the three ventures. Work on the 480-MW Phukot Karnali hydropower scheme has ground to a halt, with personnel at Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation attributing the deadlock to a Supreme Court decision that requires the Indian developer to transfer a minimum of 21.9 per cent of the electricity it generates to Nepal free of charge.
Among the topics anticipated to come up for discussion are a development initiative tied to the Koshi River, a rail link connecting Ayodhya with Janakpur, and backing from India toward Nepal's goals in the field of artificial intelligence.
Flood damage across the Bhotekoshi region — where waters rose on 26 August — has prompted Kathmandu to approach New Delhi for grants and concessional loans to support rebuilding and recovery efforts. Flood-recovery aid topped the agenda when Swarnim Wagle, serving as Nepal's finance minister, held talks with Indian counterparts during a recent visit to the country.
