In this week’s edition of The Indian Radius, we look at India’s efforts to manage its neighbourhood through interaction with emerging political actors and novel approaches.
Seeking a Clean Slate
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal visited India, marking the first ministerial-level visit from Nepal under Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government. Shah took office in March 2026, after the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won 182 of 275 parliamentary seats, marking a generational political change in Nepal.
Prime Minister Modi met RSP chairman Rabi Lamichhane shortly before the foreign ministerial visit and described Nepal as a priority partner under India’s Neighbourhood First policy. New Delhi is trying to engage the new Nepali leadership early, before irritants accumulate.
The visit focused on the full spectrum of India–Nepal ties, including development cooperation, connectivity, energy, digital sectors, and people-to-people links. EAM Jaishankar described India–Nepal ties as a very special relationship and said there was an opportunity to “decisively shift the trajectory” of bilateral engagement. FM Khanal, from Nepal’s side, said Kathmandu carried no old baggage and wanted a genuinely transformative relationship with India.
Energy was one of the most important tracks. Nepal wants to move away from short-term or seasonal power arrangements and build a more predictable cross-border energy market with India. The mountain nation also pushed for better transport corridors, digitised integrated check posts, and stronger road, rail and air links. FM Khanal referred to the proposed Janakpur–Ayodhya rail connectivity, which has both economic and religious-tourism value.
Digital public infrastructure featured prominently. Discussions included cross-border digital payments and cooperation between Nepal’s National Clearing House Limited and India’s National Payments Corporation of India, which can make remittances and small-value transactions easier across the border. This is important because India–Nepal ties are not only state-to-state; they are also sustained by the daily movement of workers, traders, pilgrims, students and families.
The visit did not resolve the boundary question, but it did create a more constructive frame for discussing it. FM Khanal stated that India and Nepal should revive existing mechanisms and discuss boundary issues through calm, rational and evidence-based dialogue.
There are two reasons this visit is consequential. First, it helps New Delhi engage a new generation of politicians in Kathmandu. Balendra Shah’s rise represents a break from Nepal’s old party-dominated politics, and India has an interest in ensuring that the new leadership does not inherit an anti-India political template.
Second, the visit strengthens the economic pillar of the relationship. If hydropower, digital payments, tourism and investment become the core of the bilateral agenda, India–Nepal ties can become less hostage to episodic political controversies.
The President of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, recently visited India, making it his first international visit since assuming office. Read my opinion piece on why India chose a path of engagement with the new military-backed administration.
In Other News:
India hosted Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, with energy cooperation at the centre of the visit. Indian companies are willing to deepen their presence in Venezuela’s energy sector. Importantly, India bought around 427,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan oil in May 2026, making it Venezuela’s second-largest oil importer that month.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper visited India early this month. The two sides discussed the India–UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and early implementation of the trade agreement. They also launched initiatives around critical minerals and maritime cooperation, including a Critical Minerals Global Supply Chain Observatory.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono visited India and co-chaired the 8th India–Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting with EAM Jaishankar. The discussions covered political cooperation, defence and security, maritime issues, trade and investment, health and pharmaceuticals, food security, tourism and culture.
SIPRI’s 2026 Yearbook, released on 8 June, warned that nuclear-armed states are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of national power. India’s nuclear arsenal is estimated at 190 warheads, with around 12 classified as deployed for the first time.
PM Modi will embark on a 6-day visit to France and Slovakia starting this weekend. The French leg will include talks with President Emmanuel Macron, with engagement on innovation systems and venture capital funding.
To brush up on French history, read Irish author Edmund Burke’s book “Reflections on the Revolution in France”. Interestingly, Edmund Burke was one of the few parliamentarians who viewed British rule in India as a devastating moral failure. Burke recognised India as a highly sophisticated civilisation with its own complex social, legal, and religious frameworks. He famously argued that Indians should be governed based on their own principles and maxims, rather than being forced to adopt narrow British ideas. Ultimately, he became the driving force behind the historic impeachment of Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of Bengal.
Thank you for reading this edition of the Indian Radius.
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