Prime Minister Balendra Shah received Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in an audience at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers at the Singha Durbar today.
During the audience, PM Shah expressed gratitude to the government of India for deploying rescue teams and providing prompt relief materials, following the recent devastating Rasuwagadhi-Bhotekoshi floods. PM Shah thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for offering solidarity and support over a phone call during the crisis.
Additionally, PM Shah expressed Nepal's interest in collaborating with India to foster domestic sports development. Foreign Secretary Misri conveyed a message from Prime Minister Modi, assuring PM Shah that preparations for his upcoming official visit to India were being expedited to ensure its success. Misri apprised PM Shah that regular bilateral consultations over key areas, including energy, water resources, trade and transit, and aviation, had been concluded successfully.
Misri also briefed PM Shah on the completion of preparations for the cross-border railway service, linking Ayodhya in India to Janakpur in Nepal, confirming that a successful trial run was conducted on the route today.
In a post on X, the Embassy of India confirmed that Foreign Secretary Misri delivered greetings from PM Modi to PM Shah. "The discussion focused on implementation of various bilateral initiatives and possibilities for further enhancement of India-Nepal cooperation across various domains, especially in the context of the forthcoming high-level visit," the embassy stated.
As per a joint press release issued by Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India's Ministry of External Affairs, Foreign Secretary Misri's two-day visit focused on reviewing wide-ranging bilateral progress and defining concrete deliverables for PM Shah's upcoming official visit to India.
During his courtesy calls, Foreign Secretary Misri held extensive discussions with Finance Minister Swarnim Waglé; Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal; Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha; and Minister for Infrastructure Development, Sunil Lamsal.
Yesterday, Misri led a high-level delegation to hold talks with his Nepali counterpart, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, to review bilateral cooperation and explore ways to deepen the partnership between the two countries.
He also engaged with a group of parliamentarians, including representatives from the India-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Tourism.
The joint press release issued by two ministries highlighted satisfaction on both sides regarding sustained momentum in traditional sectors such as trade, physical connectivity, hydro, border management and people-to-people links. Both nations also agreed to expand cooperation into emerging domains including AI, digital connectivity, startups and sports.
Foreign Secretary Misri's visit to Nepal upholds long-standing tradition of high-level diplomatic exchanges between Nepal and India.
