Why Nepal Home Minister’s India Visit Matters: Security, Border Talks With Amit Shah Likely

Nepal Home Minister Sudan Gurung will visit India on October 12 and is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The two ministers are likely to discuss security cooperation, border-related issues and coordination between India and Nepal.

Gurung will make his first foreign visit since taking charge as Nepal’s Home Minister. He will attend the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on October 13, alongside home ministers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The meeting will focus on regional security, including counterterrorism, transnational crime, intelligence sharing, law enforcement and coordination among security agencies. BIMSTEC will hold its first formal Home Ministers’ Meeting since its establishment in 1997.

Gurung’s expected meeting with Amit Shah will give the India-Nepal security dialogue a key bilateral focus. The two sides are likely to discuss ways to strengthen security cooperation and address issues concerning their shared open border.

The BIMSTEC meeting will also allow member states to coordinate their response to cross-border security challenges.

Officials will hold a meeting of BIMSTEC home secretaries before the ministerial talks to prepare key issues for discussion.

India and Nepal maintain close ties and share a long, open border. This makes coordination between their security agencies important for tackling cross-border crime, trafficking and information-sharing challenges.

Gurung may also meet other counterparts during his India visit. However, his expected talks with Amit Shah will remain a key focus of the trip, alongside Nepal’s participation in the inaugural BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting.

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