The foreign ministers of Nepal and India have agreed to prioritise projects and programmes in line with Nepal’s priorities before organising high-level visits.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal and his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, on Friday in Port Louis, Mauritius. Khanal reached the island nation on Friday morning to take part in the ninth edition of the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) 2026 at the invitation of Jaishankar, India's external affairs minister.

“We have agreed to activate all bilateral mechanisms, focusing on priorities set by the two countries and exploring new avenues of cooperation before convening high-level visits and meetings, including at the prime minister and foreign minister levels,” Khanal told the Post from Mauritius.

Barring exceptional cases, there is a tradition of Nepal’s prime ministers beginning their foreign visits with India first after a new government is formed in Kathmandu.

India and Nepal have almost three dozen mechanisms, ranging from the district to the foreign minister level, covering security, water resources, irrigation, border management, boundary issues, trade, commerce, and agriculture, among others. Some meetings of these mechanisms take place regularly, while others have been pending for years.

Similarly, dozens of projects and programmes are currently being implemented in Nepal with Indian economic and technical assistance at different stages of completion. While some projects have made good progress, others have failed to meet expectations.

Nepal and India have a number of mechanisms, as well as many projects and programmes, which the present government believes need to be streamlined while also exploring new avenues.

After the Nepali side clarifies its priorities, the Indian side will send a delegation to Kathmandu, led by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, to hold talks with Nepali officials.

Khanal said that after reviewing the rationale for ongoing projects and programmes and exploring new areas of cooperation, Nepal will formally request India to send its foreign secretary for further talks.

He added that Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar has agreed in principle, and once Nepal completes its internal preparations, it will inform the Indian side for the next round of discussions, after which the Indian foreign secretary is expected to visit Nepal.

“We will work at the technical level and set out our priorities. Then we will discuss it with the Indian side. After some concrete homework and results, there will be high-level visits,” Khanal told the Post.

Taking to social media, Jaishankar said that he was pleased to meet Nepal’s Foreign Minister Khanal and congratulated him on his appointment.

“Discussed realising the full potential of the India-Nepal partnership by deeper collaboration in different sectors,” he wrote on X. In the meeting, Khanal shared about the election outcomes and the government's two big priorities, good governance and economic growth, with Jaishankar.

On good governance, they discussed leveraging technology for economic growth, reworking projects and programmes with India, and exploring new ones.

Besides bilateral issues, the two leaders also discussed regional and global issues, including the ongoing crisis in West Asia, fuel supply concerns, and the smooth supply of petroleum products from India, as well as fertiliser challenges emanating from the crisis.

Other bilateral issues like energy, trade, infrastructure, and tourism were also briefly discussed.

“We reviewed the longstanding, multifaceted Nepal-India relationship. I value the constructive and forward-looking discussions on matters of mutual interest that have reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two nations,” Khanal later wrote on Facebook.

Khanal is also scheduled to meet his Bhutanese and Bangladeshi counterparts to discuss the various aspects of Nepal’s relations with both countries and will address the event on Saturday. Khanal became the first minister in Balendra Shah's government to make a foreign visit since its formation on March 27.