Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit to Kathmandu has confirmed that Nepal is India's priority partner under the Neighbor First Policy, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

Shortly after the Indian Foreign Secretary returned from his two-day visit to Nepal, the ministry issued a statement on Monday and said this.

"Foreign Secretary's visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and has also helped to advance our bilateral relations," the statement said. 

Misri came to Nepal on an official visit on Sunday at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Seva Lamsal. This is Misri's first visit to Nepal after taking charge as Foreign Secretary last month.

According to the ministry, Foreign Secretary Misri had a meeting with Foreign Secretary Lamsal on Monday and the comprehensive discussion between them on that occasion covered various aspects of multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal. "The two secretaries reviewed progress on various bilateral initiatives and development projects and discussed opportunities for further cooperation," the statement said.

The Foreign Secretary had a courtesy meeting with President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday. Expressing good wishes on behalf of the Indian leadership to the President and Prime Minister in both the meetings, he also informed about the progress being made in various aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Similarly, on Monday, the Foreign Secretary had a courtesy meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Urban Development Minister Prakashman Singh, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Home Minister Ramesh Akhtar and Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba. According to the ministry, in the courtesy meeting, further strengthening of India-Nepal cooperation in various mutually beneficial areas was also discussed.

During the meeting, both sides emphasized on the deep and friendly relations between India and Nepal, which are intertwined in historical, cultural, civilizational and people-to-people relations, the Ministry said.

"Both sides expressed satisfaction with the significant progress achieved in recent years in bilateral cooperation, especially in various areas of connectivity such as physical, digital, energy and people-to-people relations". Which has been manifested in the continuous implementation of infrastructure projects related to roads, bridges, integrated check posts, inland railways as well as petroleum pipelines," the statement said. 

In addition, both sides also appreciated the progress made in the mutually beneficial partnership in the field of energy cooperation . The ministry also stated that there has been significant progress in the field of energy cooperation in recent years.

"In this context, both sides expressed their happiness that the increase in electricity exports from Nepal to India in the last 2-3 years has created more sources of income for Nepal and clean energy for India," the statement said, "In 2026, Nepal will be designated as a least developed country ( The role played by cooperation with the energy sector in upgrading the status of LDCs was also discussed.'