Balendra Shah to meet Narendra Modi in Delhi for infrastructure and dispute talks

Preparations are under way for Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s inaugural bilateral visit abroad, expected in the third or fourth week of November and focused on New Delhi. Over three days, Shah will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian officials to formalise agreements on infrastructure, including the inauguration of a police academy in Panauti, bridges in Darchula and over the Mahakali River, and the integrated check post at Bhairahawa.

Both sides also intend to launch construction on the Dodhara-Chandani check post, the Lower Arun hydropower project and a petroleum pipeline from Siliguri to Jhapa. High-level discussions will tackle long-standing disputes such as the border issue, extra air-entry points for Nepal, trade imbalances and the Pancheshwar multipurpose project. Additional agenda items include major hydropower ventures (West Seti, Phukot Karnali, Seti River-6), the Ayodhya-Janakpur railway, AI cooperation and post-flood reconstruction aid. Shah’s only previous overseas trip was to New York for the UN General Assembly in September.