Indian envoy Naveen Srivastava and Nepal PM Balen Shah discuss ‘bilateral cooperation and development partnership’
Shah and Srivastava discussed bilateral ties, mutual interests, development partnership and cooperation, with Shah stressing the need to deepen Nepal’s “historic relationship” with India. PMO said on social media that the talks focused on “further strengthening Nepal-India relations”, bilateral cooperation and development partnership. Srivastava said on X that he conveyed “warm greetings from Prime Minister Modi ji” and described the meeting as an “engaging & productive exchange” to deepen the “robust, multi-faceted India-Nepal partnership”.
Neither side disclosed whether specific issues such as the boundary dispute, power trade or Shah’s proposed India visit figured in the talks.
Misri’s planned May 11-12 Kathmandu visit was subsequently postponed. The stakes for the Himalayan nation extend beyond protocol: India accounts for over 60% of Nepal’s trade and almost all its third-country transit, while Shah’s govt has simultaneously sought greater Chinese investment, technology and tourism.
A senior foreign ministry official had told a Kathmandu-based daily before the meetings, “The Indian ambassador is told to come first, followed by the Chinese ambassador,” adding that the timing reflected govt’s foreign-policy priority. The reception drew attention because Shah’s govt had described Lamichhane’s trip as “a purely personal trip”. The India-first sequencing was significant. Monday’s exchanges also contrasted with friction during Shah’s first weeks in office. His administration strictly enforced customs duties on low-value goods brought from India and protested to both New Delhi and Beijing over resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through Lipulekh, which Nepal claims. Shah also refused to meet Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri on protocol grounds. RSP president Rabi Lamichhane had received unusually high-profile treatment during his five-day India visit in June. BJP welcomed Lamichhane with a floral shower at its headquarters, where party president Nitin Nabin received him, before he met PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval. Foreign minister Shisir Khanal has described India as a major potential market for Nepal’s electricity and China as an important source of tourists.