Rabi Lamichhane, President of Nepal's ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), is expected to visit New Delhi in the first week of June, even as the proposed official visit of Prime Minister Balendra Shah to India remains uncertain. The development, reported on 27 May, signals an attempt to maintain political-level engagement between the two neighbours at a time of mounting bilateral friction.

Lamichhane's Planned New Delhi Visit

RSP spokesperson Manish Jha confirmed that Lamichhane is likely to travel to New Delhi, though neither side has made a formal announcement. 'It is yet to be officially decided, but we will make an announcement in the next few days on the matter,' Jha said. Several RSP leaders noted the visit had not been formally discussed within the party, but described a ruling party chief's engagement with a neighbouring country as a natural development.

According to The Kathmandu Post, citing sources, Lamichhane is scheduled to meet a high-level slate of Indian officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin.

Why PM Shah's India Visit Remains Uncertain

Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who was appointed on 27 March, is reportedly not keen on undertaking foreign visits until he completes at least 100 days in office. Though PM Modi formally extended an invitation, Shah has not shown urgency to act on it. Nepal's Foreign Ministry has indicated that Shah's New Delhi visit would proceed only after pending bilateral issues are worked through at the bureaucratic level and sufficient groundwork is laid for a substantive outcome.

The Bilateral Friction in the Background

Lamichhane's visit comes against a backdrop of several irritants in India-Nepal ties. Nepal lodged formal protests with both India and China after the two countries announced in early May that Indian pilgrims would access Kailash Mansarovar via the Lipulekh route — a region Nepal claims as its own. Nepal, India, and the disputed Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas remain a long-standing sovereignty flashpoint, with India currently exercising effective control.

Trade disputes have also surfaced. India raised concerns over Nepal's stricter enforcement of customs duties on goods worth more than NPR 100 brought across the border, which hurt Indian traders dependent on Nepali customers. Nepal's government maintained the move was aimed at curbing smuggling; a subsequent Supreme Court of Nepal interim order has stayed the enforcement. Separately, India's earlier requirement for mandatory laboratory testing of every Nepali tea shipment entering India dented Nepal's tea exports, though the rule has since been amended to apply only to tea destined for re-export through India.

Adding to the unease, Foreign Secretary Misri's planned visit to Nepal on 11 May was abruptly cancelled, raising further questions about the trajectory of the relationship. Shah reportedly declined to receive Misri ahead of that trip. He had also not met Sergio Gor, Special Envoy of US President Donald Trump for South and Central Asia, or Samir Paul Kapur, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, during their respective visits in April.

What RSP Leaders and Analysts Say

Prakash Chandra Pariyar, a central committee member and lawmaker of the RSP, said the planned visit should be read positively. 'The planned visit by our president, although not yet officially confirmed, should be viewed positively as it provides an opportunity to discuss bilateral issues,' he said, adding that both sides could be expected to raise issues of mutual concern.

Former Nepali ambassador to India Lok Raj Baral said it was natural for India to seek strong ties with a party that had earned a significant electoral mandate. 'The RSP President's visit can provide an opportunity to build political understanding between the two sides, although thorny bilateral issues may remain unresolved,' he said. Baral, who also served as a professor of political science at Tribhuvan University, cautioned against rigid protocol and the equidistance doctrine. 'Whether to meet foreign dignitaries should be guided by national interest rather than protocol,' he argued, noting that the scale of Nepal's relationship with India makes a strict equidistance policy difficult in practice.

Nepal's Foreign Policy Posture Under Shah

The RSP, formed only in 2022, is a relatively new force in Nepali politics, and questions persist about how a government it leads will navigate foreign policy. Shah has repeatedly stated his government will not deviate from Nepal's long-standing foreign policy traditions and will pursue relations with all countries on the basis of equidistance. He has so far avoided bilateral meetings with foreign diplomats, though his ministers have engaged them individually, and has maintained strict protocol in meetings with foreign dignitaries.

Whether Lamichhane's New Delhi visit translates into a political reset — or merely a holding measure ahead of a formal PM-level summit — will depend on the pace at which bureaucratic-level groundwork advances on both sides.