Home Minister Sudhan Gurung met nearly two dozen industrialists and businesspeople in Kathmandu ahead of his departure for New Delhi on Monday to attend a BIMSTEC meeting of home ministers, with Nepal-India trade and border management among the issues discussed for the talks. Gurung is also expected to meet Indian Home Minister Amit Shah during the visit. The meeting with the business community was Gurung’s first since taking office, according to the report on the discussion.
Trade and border management on the agenda
The Kathmandu discussion focused on issues related to trade between Nepal and India and the management of their border. These are the matters that are expected to be raised at the BIMSTEC gathering, which brings together home ministers from member states. The meeting gave Gurung an opportunity to discuss those concerns with industrialists and businesspeople before he left for the regional ministerial talks.
The summary of the meeting did not specify individual trade disputes, border locations or proposed measures. It identified trade and border management as the central subjects discussed. Gurung’s planned participation in the BIMSTEC meeting and his expected meeting with Shah make the Nepal-India dimension a key part of his schedule in New Delhi.
The meeting also brought together the Home Minister and nearly two dozen representatives from the industrial and business sectors. It was held on the eve of Gurung’s departure, placing the discussion directly ahead of his engagement with counterparts from BIMSTEC member states. The meeting was described as his first with industrialists and businesspeople since assuming the ministerial role.
Gurung urges businesspeople to stay out of politics
During the discussion, Gurung told the businesspeople to stop engaging in politics. The remark was a notable part of a meeting otherwise focused on cross-border trade and border management issues. No further detail about the exchange or the businesspeople’s response was provided in the report.
The subjects discussed are relevant to both the Home Minister’s regional meetings and the business community gathered in Kathmandu. Trade between Nepal and India was explicitly identified as an issue to be raised, alongside border management. However, the account did not provide details of specific requests made by the industrialists or any decisions taken at the meeting.
New Delhi visit and expected Shah meeting
Gurung is traveling to New Delhi on Monday for the BIMSTEC meeting of home ministers. He is expected to meet Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister, during the visit. The Kathmandu meeting took place before those engagements, with trade and border management issues positioned for discussion at the regional meeting.
The available details point to a focused agenda rather than a record of agreements: Gurung heard from industrialists and businesspeople, identified Nepal-India trade and border management as subjects for the BIMSTEC discussions, and urged participants to avoid politics. No outcomes from the New Delhi meetings were available at the time of the report. The next steps will depend on the discussions Gurung holds with fellow ministers and Shah during the visit.
