Foreign Secretary to visit Kathmandu as plans get underway for Nepal PM’s India visit

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. File | Photo Credit: PTI

In a visit to fine-tune the details of Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s planned trip to India, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is expected to reach Kathmandu on November 4, along with newly designated Indian ambassador Sudhakar Dalela, a Nepali diplomatic source has told The Hindu.

Mr. Shah is expected to visit India by the end of the year, even as his seven-month-old government continues to deal with the aftermath of the devastating floods in the Bhote Koshi River while also planning a slew of administrative and political reforms.

If it materialises, this will be the first bilateral visit abroad by Mr. Shah, who rose to prominence during the September 2025 Gen-Z uprising in Nepal that overthrew the government of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

Deprioritising foreign trips

The Hindu had earlier reported that Mr. Shah, who belongs to the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) led by former media personality Rabi Lamichhane, had vowed to focus on domestic priorities while deprioritising foreign interlocutors. In fact, Mr. Misri was earlier scheduled to travel to Kathmandu to meet Prime Minister Shah in May but the visit was postponed, ostensibly because of the new leader’s resolve to focus on domestic challenges.