Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Kathmandu on November 4 for a two-day visit meant to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Balendra Shah's first bilateral trip to India.

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• Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Kathmandu on November 4 for a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart, Amrit Bahadur Rai.
• The visit is meant to prepare the ground for Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah's proposed India visit later this month, whose dates neither government has formally announced.
• Shah's trip would be his first bilateral visit abroad since taking office in March, following elections held after last year's Gen Z-led uprising.
• Misri is holding delegation-level talks with Rai over a working lunch and meeting Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle.
• He is expected to call on Prime Minister Shah on November 5 and convey an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India.
• The agenda covers Nepal's proposed economic package with India, the programme for Shah's visit, a review of Indian-funded projects and new areas of cooperation.
• Nepal expects over $2 billion in loans and grants from India, according to the Kathmandu Post.
• India's Ministry of External Affairs said the visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges and will strengthen the overall bilateral partnership.
• This is Misri's second visit to Kathmandu since he became foreign secretary in July 2024.
• A visit planned for May was postponed amid reported differences over protocol and renewed tensions over the Lipulekh boundary dispute.
• Lipulekh is a mountain pass near the Nepal-India-China tri-junction that Nepal claims, and the dispute resurfaced in May when Nepal objected to India's plan to facilitate the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through it.