India's Foreign Secretary Visits Kathmandu to Prepare for Nepal PM's First Visit to New Delhi
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri reached Kathmandu on a two-day official visit (4 to 6 November 2026) and met Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal to review bilateral ties.
The main aim of the visit is to prepare the agenda for Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah's expected first official bilateral visit to New Delhi. Reports point to a date around 22 November 2026, but neither government has formally announced it.
Topics on the table include trade, transit (the right of landlocked Nepal to move goods through Indian territory), energy, cross-border connectivity and security. The visit may also see India-funded projects inaugurated and new Indian help announced, including support for reconstruction after the Bhotekoshi floods.
India's new Ambassador to Nepal, Sudhakar Dalela (Indian Foreign Service, 1993 batch), arrived in Kathmandu on 3 November 2026. He succeeds Naveen Srivastava, who had held the post since June 2022.
The visit comes after a difficult year. A visit by the Foreign Secretary planned for May 2026 was postponed, and in May 2026 Nepal objected to India running the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Lipulekh Pass, which Nepal claims. India rejected the objection.
India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950
The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship is the basic agreement that shapes relations between India and Nepal. It was signed in Kathmandu on 31 July 1950. It promises lasting peace between the two countries and gives the citizens of each country almost the same rights as locals in the other country: to live, work, own property and do business. The famous open border between India and Nepal, where people cross without a passport or visa, rests on the spirit of this treaty.
The Foreign Secretary's visit is preparing the ground for the Nepali Prime Minister's first official visit to New Delhi. The special relationship created by the 1950 treaty, its open border and the old demand to review the treaty are the background against which any such high-level visit takes place.
Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura Dispute
The Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura dispute is the biggest border disagreement between India and Nepal. It is about a small, high Himalayan area where the borders of India, Nepal and China (Tibet) meet. India says the area is part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. Nepal says it belongs to Nepal's Darchula district. At the root of the fight is one simple question: where does the Kali river begin?
Nepal's objection in May 2026 to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra passing through Lipulekh, and India's rejection of it, was one of the strains that slowed high-level contact this year. The boundary question is expected to be one of the sensitive issues in the background as the two countries prepare for the Nepali Prime Minister's visit.
- Foreign Secretary's visit to Kathmandu: 4 to 6 November 2026; met Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal
- Nepal PM's expected first official bilateral visit to New Delhi: around 22 November 2026 (not yet officially announced)
- New Indian Ambassador to Nepal: Sudhakar Dalela (IFS 1993 batch), arrived 3 November 2026; predecessor Naveen Srivastava (from June 2022)
- India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship: 31 July 1950, 10 articles, one year's notice to end
- India-Nepal border: about 1,751 km across five Indian states, guarded by SSB
- Eminent Persons Group: set up 2016, 8 members, report finalised July 2018
- Treaty of Sugauli: 1816; Kali (Mahakali) river as Nepal's western boundary
- Nepal's new map: May 2020, made part of its Constitution in June 2020