In a landmark move to redefine bilateral cooperation, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shisir Khanal, has formally proposed the establishment of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) campuses in Nepal.
The ambitious proposal was extended during Minister Khanal’s official three-day visit to New Delhi, marking a strategic shift toward a results-oriented, high-tech, and educational partnership between the two neighboring nations.
Representing Nepal’s newly formed administration under Prime Minister Balen Shah, Minister Khanal emphasized that the youth-backed government is eager to move past 20th-century geopolitical constraints and anchor future ties in economic transformation, pragmatism, and measurable outcomes.
Speaking on the initiative,Foreign Minister Shisir Khanalstated,”We view India as a dynamic, fast-growing tech and economic powerhouse. While India has developed rapidly, Nepal has historically lagged in capitalizing on this growth. We want to host world-class institutions like the IIT and AIIMS in Nepal to partner in innovation, transform our healthcare standards, and empower our highly talented younger generation.”
The proposal outlines a vision to replicate India’s premier institutional models to help bridge the skilled human resource gap in Nepal’s technology and healthcare sectors. If realized, the campuses will serve as regional hubs for advanced learning, cutting-edge research, and specialized medical care, benefiting students and patients across both borders.
The educational pitch forms a critical pillar of Nepal’s comprehensive five-point agenda presented during high-level diplomatic talks in New Delhi, which also features, implementing a comprehensive sectoral framework to export Nepali clean hydropower to Bangladesh utilizing Indian transmission infrastructure. Upgrading road, rail (including the Janakpur-Ayodhya link), and expanding air corridors for Nepal’s newly built international airports.Expansion of cross-border fintech cooperation by linking local payment systems with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).Joint development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) language models for regional languages between Nepali and Indian universities.
The Government of Nepal expressed optimism about collaborating closely with India’s Ministry of External Affairs and relevant academic bodies to establish a technical roadmap for these institutional campuses. This initiative marks a historic chapter in India-Nepal relations, shifting the focus from traditional diplomatic engagements to an enduring alliance built on shared institutional excellence and human capital development.
Written by: Pragna Biswas
Graphics by: Pramit Hazra
