Balen Shah picks India for first bilateral foreign trip as Nepal PM. What's on menu?

Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah is expected to visit India in November. This would mark Nepal PM's first bilateral visit since he took office in March. According to reports, preparations for Balen's India visit have gathered pace, and he will have delegation level talks with PM Narendra Modi.Nepal's Prime Minister Balen Shah is likely to hold his first bilateral visit to India in November. (Image: Getty)New Delhi,Oct 15, 2026 13:39 ISTNepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen Shah) is preparing to visit India in November, nearly eight months after taking office in March. The three-day visit, expected in the third or fourth week of November, would be his first official bilateral trip abroad, although he travelled to the US in September for the United Nations General Assembly, where he spoke about a broken system's threat to Nepal, Bangladesh, India and other South Asian nations.From major infrastructure projects to border disputes and flood reconstruction, Balen Shah's India visit is expected to have a packed agenda, reported The Kathmandu Post.The timing of the visit is significant, given Shah's initial reluctance to engage with foreign diplomats, including those from India and China. It also comes after devastating floods in August, when India rushed relief supplies and rescue specialists to Nepal. Although preparations are underway, neither Kathmandu nor New Delhi has officially announced the dates of the visit.Balen's reported visit in November follows a high-profile trip to New Delhi by Rabi Lamichhane, president of Nepal's ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), in June. Lamichhane received a ceremonial welcome at the BJP headquarters and met senior party leaders. The outreach drew attention because of Shah's reserved approach towards diplomatic engagement. Lamichhane's welcome was also intended to send a political message to the Nepali prime minister, veteran Nepal journalist Keshav Pradhan told India Today Digital in June. WHAT'S ON BALEN SHAH'S INDIA AGENDA?According to an October 15 report in The Kathmandu Post, officials from both countries have exchanged lists of projects that could be inaugurated or launched during Shah's visit.Shah is expected to hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and meet senior Indian ministers. Several agreements and memorandums of understanding are also being discussed, the Nepali English daily reported. Projects identified for possible inauguration include the India-funded Nepal Police Academy in Panauti, southeast of Kathmandu, the Bhairahawa integrated check post near the Sunauli border crossing with Uttar Pradesh, whose foundation stone was laid in June 2023, and bridges in western Nepal's Darchula district and over the Mahakali River.Shah and Modi could also mark the beginning of construction of the Dodhara Chandani integrated check post, the Lower Arun hydropower project and the Siliguri-Jhapa petroleum pipeline.Hydropower will be another important area. The 750 MW West Seti, 480 MW Phukot Karnali and 450 MW Seti River-6 projects, involving India's state-owned NHPC, could figure in discussions.A Koshi River project, the proposed Ayodhya-Janakpur railway and Indian assistance for Nepal's artificial intelligence ambitions are also among the proposals under consideration, reported The Kathmandu Post.BORDER DISPUTES REMAIN UNRESOLVEDDespite cooperation on infrastructure and energy, the two neighbours have unresolved border issues. The boundary dispute, additional air-entry routes for Nepal, trade imbalances and transit arrangements are expected to be discussed."There are some serious and thorny issues which need to be discussed with Indians, like boundary, air routes for Nepal via India, trade imbalance, among others. Consultations for the trip will take place after Dashain," a senior Nepali foreign ministry official told The Kathmandu Post on October 15.The Kalapani-Lipulekh dispute remains particularly sensitive, with both countries maintaining competing territorial claims. Progress on the long-pending Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project could also be discussed.INDIA'S FLOOD AID AND NEPAL'S RECONSTRUCTION PLANSIndia's assistance following the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods has added another dimension to the upcoming visit. Prime Minister Modi spoke to Shah after the disaster and offered "all possible humanitarian assistance". India subsequently sent more than 130 tonnes of relief supplies and deployed 54 specialists for rescue and forensic operations.Shah publicly thanked India and other countries for their support in a September 2 parliamentary address. Now, Kathmandu is seeking Indian grants and concessional loans to rebuild damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges and hydropower facilities.Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has already visited New Delhi to discuss possible reconstruction assistance.So, Balen Shah's planned visit also marks a change from his early months in office, when he avoided individual meetings with foreign diplomats. Later, Shah decided to meet Indian and Chinese envoys separately. He subsequently held his first individual meeting with a foreign diplomat, Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava, in August.On September 30, Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said, "Nepal and India both sides are waiting for a result-oriented and meaningful visit of Prime Minister Balendra Shah to India."Shah's September visit to New York had already provided an indication of his foreign policy priorities. In his first UN General Assembly address, he proposed a climate cooperation mechanism involving India, Nepal and China, while highlighting the vulnerability of Himalayan communities to disasters. His upcoming New Delhi visit would now test whether that approach can translate into agreements on infrastructure, reconstruction and the disputes that have long complicated relations between the two neighbours.- Ends(Written by Sushim Mukul)