Nepal finance minister to engage in high-level dialogues in Delhi

Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle is scheduled to participate in three high-level policy dialogues during his visit to New Delhi from Thursday to Saturday, engaging with senior Indian diplomats, business leaders and development policymakers.

At the invitation of Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Wagle is expected to meet Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and possibly Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Discussions are expected to cover Nepal-India relations, connectivity, trade, transit, business cooperation and India’s support for Nepal’s post-disaster reconstruction following the 26 August Bhotekoshi floods.

Wagle will address a diplomatic roundtable at the India International Centre organised by former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, with around 15 senior Indian diplomats expected to participate. The discussion will also cover regional and global diplomatic issues.

He will also participate in a business roundtable hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, where senior business leaders and CEOs are expected to attend. Wagle will seek greater Indian investment in Nepal and brief them on recent legislative changes aimed at facilitating investment and business operations.

The third engagement will be a development policy roundtable hosted by the Delhi School of Economics and moderated by Professor Ram Singh. Wagle said the three dialogues would provide opportunities to present Nepal’s perspectives to different Indian policy communities and help understand the new situation and the new government in Nepal.

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On reconstruction, Wagle said Nepal was not seeking a specific amount from India at present but expected support similar to India’s assistance following the 2015 earthquake. India had pledged $1 billion for Nepal’s reconstruction in 2015, including a 25% grant and 75% concessional loan.

Nepal has formed a committee to conduct a post-disaster needs assessment for Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Based on the assessment, the government may convene a donor conference or seek assistance individually, while also planning resilient infrastructure along the Bhotekoshi River to address future climate-related risks.