Nepal protest: Oli's India visit in third term — that never happened
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Nepal protest: Oli's India visit in third term — that never happened")
Nepal PM KP Oli Photograph: (Reuters)
Former Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli, who resigned amid mass protests, will be remembered as the only PM in recent history to not visit India during his term. His tenure saw worsening India-Nepal ties, closer China relations, and territorial disputes over Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura.
Former Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli, who resigned earlier today amid massive protests in the country, will go down in history as the Prime Minister of Nepal who, in one of his terms, never visited India. This is a major departure from past practices, as Nepal's Prime Ministers travel to India in the first foreign visit after taking charge, given the special relationship between the two countries.
The lack of visit was, in many ways, symbolic of the state of ties during Oli's 3rd term.In previous terms, Oli ties have witnessed a downward trend. In 2020, the Oli government issued a new political map of Nepal, staking claim to Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura after India opened a road through Lipulekh to Kailash Mansarovar. India had, back then, strongly reacted to the issuance of the map, which was seen as a "cartographic war". Domestically, for Oli, the new Nepal map was seen as part of his nationalistic agenda. While KP Sharma Oli has been to India in his first 2 terms- 2018-2021 & 2015 -2016, in his 3rd term starting 15 July 2024, a visit could never materialise. He was expected to travel to India later this month, on 17th September, and the plan was underway, but this won't happen now, given the changed circumstances.
Meanwhile, Oli, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) has been to China twice in his third term. The December 2024 visit saw a key focus on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and economic cooperation, and the second visit that happened earlier this month, when he was present at the Beijing parade, which commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the "Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression". In a region where India and China have been trying to gain influence, the first visits of a leader and the number of visits are taken note of.
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Oli, in the past few weeks, has been miffed with India and China after they opened trade through Lipulekh, an Indian territory that Nepal claims. During Oli's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on August 30, 2025 in China, he had raised the matter. A Nepali release on the bilateral said, "PM stated that the territory belongs to Nepal and the Government of Nepal has registered its strong objection on the same."
