Nepal and India have continued to enjoy cordial bilateral relations based on mutual respect and cooperation since time immemorial. The bilateral ties have been guided by the historical, cultural, traditional and religious factors. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two nations in 1947, the ties have become more comprehensive and multidimensional. The ties have deepened further because of the two nations’ firm commitment to the principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality, and understanding of each other’s aspirations and sensitivities. Needless to say, India is Nepal's largest trading partner and source of foreign investment. Nepal has also received the transit facility from India for the third-country trade. It is also notable that India accounts for more than two-thirds of Nepal's merchandise trade, about one-third of trade in services and about cent per cent of petroleum supplies. Physical proximity and people-to-people contacts have further enhanced the bilateral relations.

The frequent exchange of high-level visits between the two nations has been instrumental in boosting the ties and cooperation. However, the bilateral relations had soured after India issued a political map by incorporating Nepal's Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura in November 2019. The Indian government also opened a road linking Pithoragadh to Lipulek in May 2020. In the wake of the unilateral Indian move, Nepal government also brought out a new political map with the inclusion of those territories. However, Nepal has always remained ready to resolve the border disputes through dialogue with India.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali left for New Delhi on Thursday to take part in the sixth meeting of Nepal-India Joint Commission. Minister Gyawali, who is scheduled to return home on January 16, is meeting various Indian leaders during his trip. His visit holds a lot of significance as it is the high-level trip from Nepal since the bilateral ties hit a snag. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Joint Commission meeting is going to discuss a wide range of issues related to Nepal-India bilateral relations from trade, transit, energy, boundary, COVID-19 cooperation, infrastructure, connectivity, investment, agriculture, tourism to culture. Nepal is in dire need of a vaccine against the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting is expected to focus on the supply of Indian made vaccines to Nepal. Various firms in India have been working on such vaccines.

In December last year, Foreign Affairs Department Chief of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vijay Chauthaiwale called on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and other Nepali political leaders during his visit in December 2020. Earlier in November, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla came to Kathmandu to attend a Nepal-India Foreign Secretary level meeting. The two sides had agreed to complete the remaining boundary work. In October, Samant Kumar Goel, the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), had been in Nepal as a special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those visits paved the way for crucial dialogues. As Gyawali is visiting India at a crucial juncture in terms of the dissolution of the House of Representatives and crippling impact of COVID, talks held and deals reached in New Delhi can be of notable significance.