Opening remarks by EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar during his meeting with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal of Nepal (June 06, 2026)

Excellency, it’s a really great pleasure to welcome you and your delegation to India and I recall our meeting and conversation in Mauritius just about two months ago.

In our case, India and Nepal, we ofcourse share a very special relationship, one which is built on a strong foundation of vibrant people-to-people ties, cross-border connect and shared cultural and religious traditions.

It is anchored by shared trust, goodwill and mutual benefit, and our bilateral ties have steadily developed in areas like trade, commerce, investments, energy, development cooperation, education, disaster response and culture.

But today we have an opportunity to also take it forward in many other areas, in newer domains like startups, AI, Information Technology, renewable energy, and others.

We collaborate closely to maintain security along our long and uniquely open border.

Our two countries have always stood by each-other in times of need. In the wake of the ongoing crisis in West Asia, the Middle East, we have ensured uninterrupted fuel supplies to Nepal.

The importance accorded to this relationship by both sides has only been recently demonstrated by the excellent visit by Mr. Rabi Lamichhane, the President of your party.

I would like to take this opportunity to convey our best wishes for the success of your Government. There are strong complementarities between the objectives outlined by your government and the initiatives that India has taken in the neighbourhood. And I want today to very clearly and strongly send a message of collaboration and cooperation.

We believe that today, there is an opportunity to decisively shift the trajectory of India-Nepal relations and to realize the full potential of our ties.

I am confident that our deliberations today will help us advance toward this objective.

Before concluding, let me reiterate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sentiments regarding India’s commitment to working with Nepal for mutual progress, prosperity, and the well-being of our two countries.

Once again a very very warm welcome to New Delhi and I look forward to hearing your remarks.

New Delhi
June 06, 2026