Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal will visit India from June 5 to 7 at the invitation of India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the government in Kathmandu said on Thursday, against the backdrop of a diplomatic row over third-party mediation in the two countries’ border dispute.

Mr. Khanal will hold formal talks with Mr. Jaishankar in New Delhi, with discussions expected to cover trade, investment, connectivity, energy and people-to-people ties, according to a Nepali foreign ministry statement. The visit, part of regular high-level exchanges, is the first by a minister from Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government since it took office in March, and aims to further consolidate what Kathmandu called the “enduring and multifaceted” bilateral relationship.

The trip comes days after Mr. Shah told parliament on May 31 that Nepal had engaged China and the UK, in addition to India, on its long-standing boundary issue. New Delhi responded on June 2 by categorically rejecting any role for third parties. The exchange highlighted the sensitivity of the border dispute, which flared in 2020 when India opened a road through territory claimed by Nepal.

Despite such friction, Nepali leaders have traditionally moved quickly to engage New Delhi after assuming power, reflecting deep economic and cultural interdependence. Earlier this week, Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Mr. Modi later said on social media that Nepal was a “priority partner” under India’s Neighbourhood First policy and that he looked forward to “elevating the special and multifaceted relationship” between the two neighbours.