Nepal PM Shah to make ‘meaningful’ visit to India, date yet to be finalised: Foreign Minister Khanal

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Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. File | Photo Credit: ANI

Prime Minister Balendra Shah will make a "meaningful" and "result-oriented" visit to India at an appropriate time, although no date has been finalised, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).

Speaking to reporters on his arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport after attending the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Mr. Khanal said both Nepal and India wanted the visit to be "result-oriented." "Nepal and India, both sides, are waiting for a result-oriented and meaningful visit of Prime Minister Balendra Shah to India," he said.

"Although both sides are positive regarding the visit, the date for the Prime Minister's official visit to India is yet to be fixed," Mr. Khanal said, in response to a question.

Nepal received an invitation for the Prime Minister's visit to India soon after the formation of the new government, Mr. Khanal said, adding that preparations were now under way. "As we have been saying from the beginning, the Prime Minister received an invitation as soon as the government was formed, and we took it positively," he said.

It was decided at the time of the government's formation that the Prime Minister's visits to both neighbouring countries would take place on the basis of priorities, and that Nepal would clearly put forward its priorities before both countries, Mr. Khanal added.

Mr. Shah, who recently returned from New York, had gone to the U.S. for his first foreign visit after the formation of the new government under his leadership. Mr. Khanal also said Mr. Shah's address to the UNGA had attracted considerable international attention.

Mr. Shah addressed the Assembly in New York on September 24, 2026, highlighting Nepal's concerns over climate change and the impact of disasters on mountain communities, among other issues. He put before the international community the devastating floods Nepal encountered last month, and demanded climate justice for a country whose contribution to climate change is negligible, linking the tragedy to climate change and global warming.

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