India-Nepal Border Talks Focus on Security as Kuwait Faces Fresh Iran War Shock

The meeting is being held at Hotel Taj in Dehradun and is focusing on cross-border crime, infiltration, smuggling and other criminal activities along the open India-Nepal border.

The discussions also cover measures to strengthen security along the open border and address border-related disputes, including through the examination of historical maps. The high-level talks are also taking up Nepal's concerns and position regarding India-China trade through the Lipulekh Pass.

The meeting comes as General Dhiraj Seth, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Indian Army, undertook an official visit to Nepal from August 16-19. Upon his arrival in Kathmandu on August 16, General Seth was received by senior officials of the Nepali Army and representatives of the Embassy of India in Kathmandu.

On August 18, General Seth held a courtesy call with the Prime Minister of Nepal, where discussions focused on the longstanding partnership between the two countries, particularly defence cooperation.

Earlier, on August 10, India's Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, paid a courtesy call on Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Durbar.

The 45-minute interaction marked a significant milestone as PM Balendra Shah, who had previously maintained a strict policy of avoiding individual, one-on-one meetings with foreign diplomats, broke his self-imposed rule to meet directly with the Indian envoy.

Ambassador Srivastava conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and emphasised a mutual commitment to cultivating a robust, multifaceted partnership.

The discussions focused heavily on expanding cooperation in development projects, trade, energy and infrastructure to reinforce the deep-rooted historical and cultural ties shared by the two nations.

Ambassador Srivastava extended his best wishes to Prime Minister Shah and reaffirmed India's commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations. In response, Prime Minister Shah emphasised the need to deepen the historical ties between the two neighbouring nations and highlighted the value of joint collaboration across areas of mutual interest.

Releasing an official statement on the dialogue, the Nepal Prime Minister's Office, in a post on X, said, "Ambassador of India to Nepal H. E. Mr Naveen Srivastava (@navsri6619) paid a courtesy call on the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Mr Balendra Shah (@ShahBalen) at Singhadurbar today. On the occasion, discussions were focused on further strengthening Nepal-India relations, promoting bilateral cooperation and enhancing development partnership for the mutual benefit of two countries."

These coordinated diplomatic interactions underscore New Delhi's active commitment to robust and continuous engagement with its immediate South Asian neighbours, prioritising direct communication and mutual development under the "Neighbourhood First" doctrine.

India's "Neighbourhood First" policy serves as a cornerstone foreign policy initiative designed to give primary focus to diplomatic, economic and security ties with countries in its immediate South Asian periphery.

Conceptualised in 2008, the approach was formally institutionalised and reinvigorated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 to foster a peaceful, seamlessly connected and mutually supportive regional environment.

The framework aims to foster regional stability, deepen economic integration and expand infrastructural connectivity across immediate neighbours such as Nepal through collaborative transit corridors, shared energy networks and joint infrastructure, while actively managing shifting domestic political dynamics and broader strategic competition across South Asia.

Meanwhile, Kuwait is facing another period of heightened insecurity after the US and Israel first struck the Islamic Republic after February 28, with daily life punctuated by retaliatory attacks by Iran and its proxies in Iraq.

A report after the first few weeks of the war by the International Institute for Strategic Studies showed Kuwait was the most targeted of the Arab states after the United Arab Emirates, which said this week it has cut all economic ties with Iran after accusing Tehran of firing missiles at it, and more than Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined.

In response, Kuwaitis were quick to donate blood, secure safe rooms in basements, buy generators and stockpile food and water. School classes moved online. The government secured ways to export oil and maintain business as usual.

In 1991, Iraq's retreating army set fire to over 600 oil wells, plunging Kuwait into the black of night on many days. This time, Kuwait kept some oil flowing to power electricity and desalination plants until it was able to ramp up output and send ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the main focal point of the war.

People see the current conflict as the latest chapter in their fight for independence, said Bader Al-Saif, a historian at Kuwait University and an associate fellow at Chatham House. It is a struggle that has coloured much of the nation's history, he said.

"Kuwait had to constantly manage external threats and contend with much larger, and at times more powerful, neighbors," Al-Saif said at a cafe in a suburb of Kuwait City. That intensified after the Iraqi invasion. "That trauma lingers especially with 308 missing persons, unresolved maritime borders with both Iran and Iraq, and the return to war in the past few months."

After being freed from Iraqi occupation by US-led forces, Kuwait became host to the American military and has been paying the price for its staunch comradeship with Washington.

The bases were used as a launchpad for attacks in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, leaving Kuwait exposed to missiles from its former occupier. Two US military camps as well as Kuwaiti airbases were targeted since early in the current war.

But Iraq's 1990 invasion marked a starting point of Kuwaiti resistance, something that is now seared into the national psyche and sets the country apart from its Gulf neighbours.

In a bid to resist Iraqi rule, a domestic movement emerged whose operatives were engaged in sabotage operations, civil disobedience and an underground intelligence network at the risk of being tortured or executed. They issued fake identity cards for Westerners hiding from Iraqi forces.

The spirit of defiance is evident when arriving in Kuwait City. At the airport, passenger lines often snake from the entrance to check-in at a packed terminal built only for Kuwait Airways. Most operations were quickly shifted there after the concourse for international airlines was bombed for a second time.

Supermarket shelves remained stocked as supply chains were reinforced through neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE. There has been ample liquidity in the economy, and malls are invariably packed with shoppers and diners.

In spring, two friends wanted to create a symbol of unity for Kuwaitis to adopt by wearing badges. They chose the bright yellow Al-Arfaj desert flower. It has since been hung from cranes as well as worn on the lapels of Kuwaitis, including last month by the ambassador to the US, Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah.

"Just like Kuwaitis, the Al-Arfaj flower is vibrant, it blooms in the harshest conditions, symbolizing resilience and rising under pressure," said Mohammad Sharaf, who designed and developed the idea initiated by his friend, Khaled Alfadala.

Damage is being done, of course. Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world, underpinned by its $1 trillion-plus sovereign wealth fund, but the country has been shaken. Exports slumped after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, and the economy will contract by 7.9% in 2026, according to a Bloomberg News survey of nine economists in mid-June.

The government, which spends four-fifths of its income on salaries for civil servants and subsidies, has tapped debt markets three times since last year after its budget deficit surged.

"Despite the severity of the shock, Kuwait's economy has weathered the crisis reasonably well thanks to a combination of strong sovereign buffers, effective policy intervention, and regional cooperation," said Daniel Kaye, chief economist at National Bank of Kuwait, one of the country's biggest lenders. "GDP will of course take a hit this year, but many of the activity indicators we monitor have bounced significantly off their initial lows."

Kuwait has not engaged directly with Iran, apart from a phone call in June between their foreign ministers following a memorandum of understanding on a US-Iran peace deal that subsequently collapsed.

Some Kuwaitis say the current war has exposed that the decades-old alliance with the US will not always guarantee their protection. The US shuttered its embassy in Kuwait after it was hit during the war before reopening it in June.

Diplomatically, Kuwait has been forging closer ties with European and Arab allies to support its sovereignty and defences. Kuwaitis are particularly concerned about militias backed by Iran in neighbouring Iraq.

Unsettled once again, some spoke of the need to transfer some savings abroad and, if possible, buy a property elsewhere, fearing an escalation in the war.

Officials are more optimistic. "By advancing a business environment built on trust, innovation and sustainable growth, Kuwait continues to attract long-term investment and advance sustainable economic transformation," said Sheikh Meshaal Al-Sabah, director general of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority. He credited the country's perseverance to "strong economic fundamentals and progressive vision."

In central Kuwait City, the tower once occupied by the Public Institution for Social Security now serves as a reminder of what the country still faces. It is a burnt-out empty shell overlooking a main highway into the capital. The building was struck in March.

Yet, even with little respite from Iranian assault, Kuwait has remained a hive of business activity.

Kuwait Petroleum's transaction with Blackstone Inc., Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and KKR & Co. involves a joint venture that will lease the rights to use KPC's pipelines. KPC expects it to generate $7.85 billion for Kuwait that will be used to fund the company's programme to expand its oil output.

Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have export pipelines and alternatives, Kuwait relies entirely on the Strait of Hormuz. At the end of March, a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker burned off the coast of Dubai after an Iranian strike.

"The future of energy security will be defined by resilience across the entire value chain," Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, KPC's CEO, said in an interview at the site where workers were decanted from the scorched HQ now under repair. "For KPC, this means building a more connected, flexible, and diversified energy system that keeps us as the trusted supplier to the world, whatever challenges lie ahead."

Officials remain determined to send the message they had pushed for in the weeks before the war started: that Kuwait is open for business.

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson made a brief visit in July, in between one overnight attack and another onslaught hours after her departure. Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield, was in Kuwait last month to meet with officials.

There has also been trust in national defences, with 98% of missiles and drones being intercepted, according to a Kuwaiti defence official. People have become so accustomed to the sound of impending danger that they ignore the sirens.

Still, the latest conflict has cemented the deep-rooted angst felt since the Iraqi invasion for some Kuwaitis. The Iran conflict is now seen by many as a war of attrition, with no end in sight.