Nepal seeks major Indian aid package during PM Balen Shah's planned New Delhi visit

Nepal is seeking a large-scale assistance package from India during the planned visit of Prime Minister Balendra Shah to New Delhi, likely in late November, a senior official at Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in an IANS report published on Saturday.

Neither country has officially announced the date, but officials at the prime minister’s office and the Foreign Ministry said Shah is likely to travel to New Delhi on November 22 or 23. “The Prime Minister is likely to visit India in the final days of November,” the prime minister’s press advisor Dipa Dahal told IANS, adding the duration is yet to be confirmed. The Foreign Ministry has not yet proposed a specific date to the Indian side.

The visit comes as Nepal grapples with the August 26 floods, which killed nearly 1,500 people while more than 5,000 remain unaccounted for, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers swept away communities, hydropower plants, roads and bridges, causing billions of dollars in damage.

“Although the resources needed for reconstruction are enormous, we had been seeking a large-scale assistance package from India even before the floods struck the country,” the Foreign Ministry official said, without specifying an amount. Nepal wants assistance with fewer conditions attached, to ensure smooth implementation and visible results.

Nepal also wants progress on longstanding issues including border disputes, energy, trade and transit, and air services. Shah, sworn in on March 27 after the March 5 elections, has made only one foreign trip so far — to New York in September for the 81st UN General Assembly session.