In a meeting packed with deliverables, the two countries signaled a decisive shift from political friction to purposeful partnership – laying the groundwork for Prime Minister Balen Shah’s anticipated visit to New Delhi.
Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Kanal, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. India and Nepal on Saturday took significant steps in reviving their bilateral ties as they held wide-ranging talks with Jaishankar in New Delhi.
The meeting, the centerpiece of Kanal’s first visit to India, saw three major joint announcements: cross-border UPI-linked digital payments between the two countries, handover of 84 post-earthquake reconstruction projects and an AI language technology agreement between Indian and Nepalese companies.
Deliverables, not just conversation
In what observers noted was a deliberate departure from the code-heavy diplomacy of recent years, the two ministers moved quickly to turn goodwill into consequences.
An announcement with immediate impact is the merger between India’s NPCI and Nepal’s NCHL, which operate UPI under an MoU first signed in June 2023, enabling person-to-person cross-border digital money transactions.
Jaishankar confirmed the development on social media, writing, “Both parties have jointly launched a link between UPI India and National Payments Interface Nepal to facilitate cross-border personal remittances.” Earlier in the day, in an exclusive interview with NDTV Senior Managing Editor Aditya Raj Kaul, Connell flagged the UPI deal as a priority. “We want to see it happen on the Indian side as well,” he said, referring to the implementation of digital payments for Nepalis traveling in India as well.
Rebuilding Nepal, together
In a moment of humanitarian and diplomatic significance, Jaishankar virtually handed over 72 health facilities and 12 cultural heritage projects that were rebuilt with Indian development assistance following the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal that killed nearly 9,000 people. The 84 projects represent ground-breaking cooperation over the years and stand as a concrete demonstration of India’s long-term commitment to Nepal’s recovery and development.
A Nepali embassy statement said the two ministers “reviewed progress in various ongoing bilateral projects and cooperation initiatives and exchanged views on ways to expedite their implementation”, indicating that both sides are moving beyond announcements towards accountability on delivery timelines.
AI, language and the digital frontier
The most forward-looking announcement of the day was the signing of an MoU between Digital India Bashini – India’s national language technology mission – and the Center for Digital Public Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence at Kathmandu University’s School of Engineering. The MoU aims to create a national digital infrastructure for a ‘Voice First’ language translation platform for Nepal, which will transform access to digital services for millions of Nepalis across linguistic communities.
Kanal previewed this ambition in an interview with NDTV Senior Managing Editor Aditya Raj Kaul earlier in the day. “We want to see new technology, AI, language models, be part of our conversation,” he said, adding that India’s success with digital public infrastructure is a model India wants to learn from.
A detailed and detailed conversation
Beyond the joint announcements, the embassy statement said the bilateral talks covered “the entire spectrum of Nepal-India bilateral relations”, covering trade, cross-border connectivity, energy partnership, water resource management, people-to-people relations and sports. Regional and multilateral cooperation were also discussed.
Jaishankar described the talks as comprehensive and resourceful, reiterating on social media “India’s commitment to work with Nepal for mutual progress, prosperity and well-being of our people”. He listed hydropower development, education, health, capacity building, culture and digital cooperation among the areas discussed – a broad canvas reflecting the depth of the bilateral agenda that both sides are now pursuing.
Balen Shah’s Visit to India Trust
Diplomatically, Saturday’s meeting has significance beyond its immediate delivery. Khanal’s visit is widely seen as laying the groundwork for Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah’s upcoming visit to New Delhi — a trip both sides have indicated is planned, though no date has been announced.
“I am here. I think this is my first visit as a representative of the government, the first visit to lay the foundation for such high-level visits,” Kanal told NDTV. “We believe high-level exchanges will take place on both sides.”
Connell is scheduled to return to Kathmandu on Sunday. But the work of the visit — three agreements signed, 84 projects handed over, and bilateral dialogue moving toward outcomes on optics — will endure well beyond his departure.
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