Nepal Finance Minister meets Jaishankar, as both sides plan for PM Balen Shah visit

Nepal’s reconstruction plans post-floods and the “reset” of India-Nepal ties with the newly elected government were at the top of the agenda as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle here on Friday (September 18, 2026), as both sides prepare for a visit by Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah to Delhi later this year.

Nepal flash floods: What caused the devastation?

Mr. Jaishankar said he offered his deep condolences over the recent flash floods to Mr. Wagle. “Discussed ways to strengthen our overall cooperation, especially in economic, energy and connectivity domains”, he added in a social media post where he tagged the government’s “Neighbourhood First” slogan. 

Mr. Wagle’s visit to Delhi follows a visit by Nepal Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal in June, as part of a call by ruling Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane for a “reset” in ties between Delhi and Kathmandu, troubled over the past few years on both boundary disputes and economic issues. 

Multilateral support

Mr. Wagle met Mr. Jaishankar a day after he met with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, where India committed to continuing support for Nepal’s recovery efforts after the floods in Nepal. According to officials, the entire reconstruction required after the floods on August 26, that have left more than 1,400 dead, and more than 6,000 missing, will top $5 billion. Nepal will be making an appeal for multilateral support at the UN General Assembly next week in New York, as Mr. Shah is expected to make his first international speech. Mr. Wagle is in Delhi on his first visit abroad since he took office and will travel soon to Doha for a meet of the Board of China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and to the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. 

In a readout, the Finance Ministry said Mr. Wagle had thanked India for its assistance after the floods on the Trishuli river that overflowed in areas on both sides of the Nepal-China border and destroyed a major Chinese border crossing at Rasuwa. The Finance Ministry said they had also discussed the strengthening of bilateral economic ties and “initiatives to enhance connectivity for deepening of trade, investments and people-to-people exchanges”. Nepal wants to explore connectivity in road and rail, but officials have said they are keen to resolve the long-pending issue over overflight for flights to Nepali airports. In particular, India’s denial of permission for bi-directional flights to the Gautam Buddha International airport at Bhairahawa near Lumbini and Pokhara international airport has caused Nepal major financial losses in debt repayments. 

According to the officials, the Shah government has been positive about its engagement with New Delhi since it came to power in elections in March this year, despite some misgivings that led to the cancellation of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit to Kathmandu in May, after it became clear that the Nepali Prime Minister would not meet him. However, since then, the two sides have picked up ties, spurred by a visit in June by Mr. Lamichhane who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. 

Mr. Wagle, an economist who was earlier an adviser at the UNDP, and senior economist at the World Bank also ran a think tank on South Asian development policy in Kathmandu, is meeting a number of academics and diplomats during his visit to Delhi. On Saturday (September 19) he will meet a group of Indian industrialists working in Nepal to discuss their plans as well as concerns for future investment, as well as address scholars at the Delhi School of Economics.