Kathmandu, October 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Nepal is seeking a substantial assistance package from India during Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s proposed visit to New Delhi, expected in the final days of November, as the Himalayan nation faces extensive reconstruction needs following devastating floods and seeks progress on several longstanding bilateral issues.
Although neither government has officially announced the dates, officials at Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry indicated that Shah could visit India on November 22 or 23.
“The Prime Minister is likely to visit India in the final days of November,” Dipa Dahal, Shah’s press advisor, told IANS, adding that the duration of the visit was yet to be confirmed. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry has not yet proposed a specific date to the Indian side.
Shah became Prime Minister on March 27 following Nepal’s March 5 parliamentary elections. India subsequently invited him to visit New Delhi. His only foreign trip so far was to New York in September to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The proposed visit comes as Nepal continues to assess the damage caused by floods on August 26. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, nearly 1,500 people were killed and more than 5,000 remained unaccounted for. Floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers swept away communities, hydropower facilities, roads and bridges, causing billions of dollars in damage and creating substantial reconstruction requirements.
A Nepali Foreign Ministry official said Kathmandu had sought a large-scale assistance package from India even before the floods. The official did not disclose the amount being sought but said Nepal wanted support with fewer conditions attached to facilitate implementation and deliver visible results quickly.
India provides Nepal with grants through its budgetary allocations and has extended lines of credit for infrastructure and reconstruction projects. Following Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, India pledged $1 billion for reconstruction.
According to the Indian Embassy’s website, Nepal is currently utilising four Indian lines of credit worth $100 million, $250 million, $550 million and $750 million, totalling $1.65 billion. These funds support infrastructure projects prioritised by the Nepali government. The credit arrangements through the Export-Import Bank of India require a specified share of project components to originate in India.
Beyond financial assistance, Nepal intends to seek progress on border disputes, energy cooperation, trade and transit arrangements, and air connectivity.
The dispute over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura remains a source of tension. Nepal claims the territories, which India considers part of Uttarakhand.
Kathmandu is also seeking additional international air-entry routes through Indian airspace. Around 90 per cent of international flights to Nepal currently enter through a single, congested route over Simara in the south. Nepal has proposed three additional entry points through Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj, particularly to support operations at its newer international airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa.
India has been reluctant to approve direct, low-altitude routes through Nepal’s western and eastern corridors, citing security concerns linked to sensitive military installations, including the Gorakhpur air base, as well as air traffic management challenges.
Trade is another expected priority. Nepal wants an early review of the Nepal-India Trade Treaty, which was automatically renewed in 2023. While the treaty is renewed every seven years unless either side raises an objection, individual provisions can be modified through mutual agreement.
Nepal also wants India to address non-tariff barriers, particularly certification requirements imposed by the Bureau of Indian Standards for certain Nepali exports. Exporters of cement, steel, plywood, footwear, sanitary pads, diapers and electrical wires have raised concerns about procedural delays.
The visit is also expected to feature the inauguration of development projects built with Indian assistance, including the Nepal Police Academy in Panauti, a bridge in Darchula, an integrated check post in Bhairahawa and a motorable bridge over the Mahakali River.
The Kathmandu Post has reported that the two prime ministers could also mark the start of construction on the integrated check post at Dodhara Chandani, the Lower Arun hydropower project and a petroleum pipeline from Siliguri in India to Jhapa in Nepal.
Major hydropower projects are also likely to figure in discussions, including the 750-MW West Seti, 480-MW Phukot Karnali and 450-MW Seti River-6 projects, in which India’s state-owned NHPC is involved. The development of Phukot Karnali has faced uncertainty following a Nepal Supreme Court ruling requiring the Indian company to provide at least 21.9 per cent of the electricity generated free of charge to Nepal, according to Nepali energy officials.
Other issues under consideration include cooperation on a project on the Koshi River, the Ayodhya-Janakpur railway link and Indian support for Nepal’s ambitions in artificial intelligence.
Nepal is also seeking Indian grants and concessional loans for recovery and reconstruction after the August 26 floods. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has already visited India and discussed possible assistance for post-flood reconstruction.
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