Sixteenth Meeting of the India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues

Kathmandu: The Sixteenth Meeting of the India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues (INBCGSI) was held in Pune, India on 23-24 June 2025. The Indian delegation was led by Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; and the Nepali delegation was led by Gahendra Rajbhandari, Joint Secretary (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal.

The delegations comprised officials from the respective Foreign and Defence Ministries as well as Directorates of the Indian Army and the Nepali Army.

According to the press statement released by Ministry of External Affairs of India, both sides held productive discussions on a wide range of issues relating to security and defence cooperation such as equipment supplies, training, joint military exercises, disaster relief operations and military exchanges. In addition, the delegations also visited key public and private defence sector manufacturing facilities to explore possibilities for mutually beneficial collaboration.

The INBCGSI, which was established in 2003, is the umbrella institutional mechanism between India and Nepal that coordinates bilateral defence and security cooperation.