India Doubles Down On Neighbourhood First With Sri Lanka And Nepal Outreach
As ties with parts of South Asia stay frosty, New Delhi is leaning on warmer relationships with Colombo and Kathmandu, deepening cooperation on defence, connectivity and energy.
The NE Times World Desk
Commentary & Analysis ·
With several relationships across South Asia under strain, India is investing heavily in its warmer ties with Sri Lanka and Nepal, casting both as anchors of its Neighbourhood First policy. A run of high-level visits and cooperation frameworks over recent months underscores New Delhi's determination to consolidate friends in a region where its influence has faced fresh competition.
Colombo, a steadying partner
Relations with Sri Lanka have stabilised markedly under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. India's external affairs minister was among the first foreign dignitaries to reach Colombo after his election, carrying an invitation to visit New Delhi. The two governments have since been building out cooperation on defence, development, connectivity, energy, digitalisation, education and trade.
A framework agreement on defence cooperation, set in motion after Mr Dissanayake's earlier visit to India, has become a centrepiece of the relationship, reflecting Colombo's willingness to deepen security ties with New Delhi.
Kathmandu in focus
Nepal has also featured prominently in India's recent diplomacy, with back-to-back engagements by senior Nepali leaders and a ministerial visit to India in early June. The cadence of exchanges points to an effort to repair and reset a relationship that has seen periodic friction over boundary questions and external influence.
- Ties with Sri Lanka have stabilised under President Dissanayake.
- A India-Sri Lanka defence cooperation framework is taking shape.
- Cooperation spans energy, connectivity, digitalisation and trade.
- Nepal's leaders held back-to-back engagements with India.
- A Nepali ministerial visit took place in early June 2026.
The strategic logic
The outreach is partly defensive. With relations strained elsewhere in the neighbourhood and China courting the same capitals through infrastructure and investment, New Delhi is keen to demonstrate that partnership with India delivers tangible benefits. Connectivity projects, energy links and people-to-people ties are the tools through which India hopes to make itself the indispensable regional partner.
“A friendly Colombo and a stable Kathmandu are strategic assets India cannot afford to neglect.”
— Regional foreign-policy analyst, paraphrased
The test will be execution. Frameworks and visits build goodwill, but delivering connectivity and energy projects on time is what ultimately cements influence. For now, Sri Lanka and Nepal offer New Delhi a reminder that Neighbourhood First can still produce wins.
The NE Times View
Leaning on Colombo and Kathmandu while other ties stay cold is sensible triage, but neighbourhood policy is judged by its hardest cases, not its easiest. The NE Times View: defence, connectivity and energy cooperation are welcome, yet India must avoid the perception of overbearing influence that has cost it before. Reliable delivery and respect for partners' sovereignty will do more than grand announcements.
This article is original commentary and analysis by The NE Times. Background facts were referenced from The Hindu and NDTV.
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