KATHMANDU — Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal will travel to New Delhi from June 5 to 7 at the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, marking the first ministerial visit from Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government since it took office in March.

The trip, announced by Nepal’s foreign ministry on Thursday, follows a diplomatic row sparked by Prime Minister Shah. In a May 31 parliamentary address, Shah disclosed that besides direct talks with India on their border dispute, Kathmandu had engaged with China and the UK. New Delhi firmly rebuffed the suggestion two days later, reiterating that no third party should be involved in the bilateral boundary question.

Khanal and Jaishankar are expected to hold formal talks aimed at deepening cooperation across trade, investment, connectivity, energy and people-to-people ties. Nepal’s foreign ministry said the visit, part of regular high-level exchanges, would “further consolidate the enduring and multifaceted bilateral relations” between the two neighbours.

The engagement comes just days after Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Modi posted on social media that Nepal is a “priority partner under our Neighbourhood First policy” and expressed eagerness to work with the new government to elevate the bilateral relationship. The back-to-back meetings signal that despite recent friction over the border controversy, both sides are seeking to maintain pragmatic, high-level dialogue across a spectrum of shared interests.