Nepal Finance Minister to visit India for flood reconstruction talks

Nepali Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle is visiting New Delhi to discuss economic aid for reconstruction after devastating floods. He will meet top Indian officials, including his counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman, to seek cooperation.

Nepali Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle will embark on a two-day visit to New Delhi from Thursday to discuss economic cooperation for reconstruction after the devastating Nepal floods, sources confirmed to ANI.

Minister's Agenda in New Delhi

“The Finance Minister will be visiting India on 17 and 18 September. He will be having discussion with Indian counterpart and other senior officials during the two-day visit,” a source from the Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed ANI.

During the visit, Wagle will be meeting Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, with the primary focus on economic cooperation for reconstruction after floods, the source informed ANI.

The visit will be the first high-level trip from Nepal since the devastating floods of August 26 that killed 1,388 people and destroyed property worth around $ 4.75 billion in three districts.

During the visit, the Nepali Finance Minister will also hold meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the source from the MoFA said.

Apart from the meetings and call-on during the visit, the Nepali Finance Minister will also address an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and deliver a lecture at the Delhi School of Economics.

India's Immediate Aid and Relief Efforts

Nepal’s Southern neighbor, India, has extended help to Nepal within hours of the disaster that struck the Himalayan Nation on August 26.

A special team deployed from India is carrying out the search and rescue operation at the Chilime Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district.

India stands as the first nation in terms of delivering aid and relief support to Nepal at the time of crisis, with eight consignments of relief aid being brought to Kathmandu.

India Approves Power Export to Nepal

On Monday, with the recent floods in Nepal having caused significant damage to hydropower infrastructure and reducing its domestic power generation capacity, the government has approved the export of power to the neighbouring country.

India’s Power Ministry issuing a release, said that it has accorded approval for the export of power for 18 hours a day (00:00 hours to 18:00 hours) to Nepal Electricity Authority from September 13, 2026 to December 31, 2026.

“Approval has been given for up to 600 MW of export through Muzaffarpur - Dhalkebar 400 kV D/c line and upto 54 MW through Tanakpur - Mahendranagar 132 kV S/c line. The quantum of power to be exported from January 2027 will be reviewed in December 2026,” the release said.

“The recent floods have caused significant damage to hydropower infrastructure in Nepal, reducing its domestic power generation capacity and creating an additional requirement for electricity,” it added.

The release said that the approval will help Nepal meet its power requirements during this difficult period and strengthen the close and longstanding energy cooperation between India and Nepal.

“India remains committed to supporting Nepal and strengthening bilateral cooperation in the energy sector,” the release said.

(ANI)

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