2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 28, 2026 08:42 PM IST
India on Tuesday confirmed that an invitation has been extended to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah for an official visit, even as there was no information on probable dates for the visit.
Speaking at the bi-weekly media briefing, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Invitation has been extended to Nepal PM Balen Shah to visit India.”
Soon after Shah was elected in March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated him in a post on X, and said that he looks forward “to working closely with you (Shah) to take India-Nepal friendship and cooperation to even greater heights”. It is learnt that a formal invite has been sent to the Nepalese PM’s office through diplomatic channels.
In May, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was proposed to visit Kathmandu, where he was expected to call on the Nepal PM, and hand over an invitation to PM Shah to visit India. However, the visit was deferred as Shah had reportedly conveyed to his inner circle that he will not undertake any foreign visits in the near future – at least for the first 100 days of his term.
Reports had also suggested that Shah was reluctant to meet visiting foreign officials or leaders below the rank of Foreign Minister. However, recent reports have indicated that Shah is poised to meet the Indian ambassador this week in Kathmandu. Even as the MEA has not confirmed it, there have been reports of PM Shah’s political adviser, Kumar Ben, traveling to India to lay the groundwork for his upcoming visit.
New Delhi is looking to recalibrate its ties with the Himalayan neighbour with the stable and full-majority government coming in, in the wake of strain with the previous Oli-led government in the preceding years.