Nepal seeks balanced India-China ties, puts economic diplomacy first

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Jul 2, 2026 18:08 IST

Nepal wants to maintain a balanced relationship with all friendly countries, including neighbours India and China, while giving priority to economic diplomacy and a foreign policy based on national interest, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has said. He said his recent visit to India, the first high-level contact between the two countries after Nepal's new government took office in March, could be described as a "special one".

Khanal said the new government wants cordial relations with all neighbours and development partners, and aims to attract more foreign investment through effective economic diplomacy. His remarks came after visits to both New Delhi and Beijing in June, during which he held talks on a range of bilateral issues.

During his visit to India from June 5 to 7, Khanal held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also met Security Advisor Ajit Doval. "We have placed economic collaboration as the focal point during the discussions. As bilateral mechanisms have become active and operational as a result of my recent official visit to India. The visit may be termed as a special one," Khanal told the News Agency of Nepal.

He said "result oriented discussions" were held on a wide range of issues, including trade, energy, connectivity, investment and border management. He added that both sides had expressed their commitment to resolve border issues and misunderstandings that had surfaced over the past few years.

His trip to New Delhi came against the backdrop of a controversy triggered by Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah's remarks in May on the boundary row between the two sides. Shah had suggested the involvement of China and the UK to resolve the issue, but New Delhi had categorically rejected any third-party role.

After his India trip, Khanal visited Beijing on a four-day visit from June 14, during which he held comprehensive and in-depth talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior political leaders. On Thursday, he said, "We are effortful to maintain a balanced relationship with all friendly countries, including neighbours India and China, stress on economic diplomacy and to pursue a new style of diplomacy based on national interest and maintain natural relations with all countries."

Khanal also said, "We want to attract more foreign investment by pursuing effective economic diplomacy." He added that fruitful discussions were held on infrastructure, connectivity, border management, energy, trade, investment, agriculture, technology transfer, information technology and strengthening people-to-people relations, as Nepal expands cooperation in several other areas.

In sum, Khanal said Nepal's new government is trying to deepen ties with India and China through balanced engagement, economic diplomacy and discussions focused on trade, connectivity, investment and other areas of cooperation.

With PTI Inputs

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