Nepal’s Oli Steps Onto Global Stage With Egypt, Portugal Talks in Spain

Seville summit sidelines turn into diplomacy theater as Oli seeks deeper ties for economic and development cooperation

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli isn’t exactly known for grand gestures or dramatic overtures on the world stage. But in Spain this week, the veteran Nepali leader quietly underscored his intent to lift Nepal’s diplomatic and economic profile—one bilateral meeting at a time.

On the margins of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Oli met separately with Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Kamal Madbouly and Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. The sit-downs were brief but symbolically weighty. They marked Nepal’s effort to engage with partners beyond its immediate neighborhood—and in a forum focused not just on pledges but practical pathways to financing growth.

Egypt-Nepal: Mutual Priorities, Mutual Opportunity

For Cairo and Kathmandu, the meeting had more to it than warm handshakes. With development financing and South-South cooperation gaining traction, both governments found common ground in their shared priorities.

Oli and Madbouly discussed potential projects in tourism, infrastructure, and technical education. The tone, according to one official present, was “productive and open-ended.”

The Egyptian side expressed interest in tapping Nepal’s experience in community-based sustainable tourism. Nepal, in turn, explored Egyptian expertise in water management—particularly desalination and arid agriculture, areas that could be relevant to Nepal’s changing climate dynamics.

Oli was backed by a high-level delegation:

• Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal

• Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai

• Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha

• Ambassador to Spain Shanil Nepal

It was a stacked room, with more substance than ceremony.

Portugal Adds a European Layer to Kathmandu’s Outreach

While Egypt gave the meeting a South-South flavor, Portugal added a touch of transcontinental strategy. Luís Montenegro, who took office with a clear focus on expanding Lisbon’s diplomatic footprint, seemed eager to explore ties with the Himalayan nation.

Nepal and Portugal don’t share a deep history. But both leaders found alignment on multilateral forums—especially in areas like climate financing, green energy, and migration.

Montenegro reportedly raised the potential for cultural exchange programs, a soft-power tool Portugal often employs in the Global South. Oli, for his part, pitched Nepal’s hydropower potential and asked for European investment not just in energy but also in digitization and education.

One delegate said, “Portugal may be a small country, but in the EU, they’ve got a big voice when it comes to development dialogue.”

That voice could help amplify Nepal’s needs at forums like the OECD, IMF, and UN bodies.

Nepal’s Quiet Push for a Bigger Global Role

This isn’t about photo ops. Oli’s trip to Spain, sandwiched between a flurry of domestic priorities back home, signals something deeper.

He’s trying to steer Nepal beyond traditional donor frameworks and broaden its diplomatic portfolio. It’s subtle—but strategic.

There’s no denying Nepal’s challenges: debt distress risks, youth outmigration, stalled infrastructure, a fragile energy grid. But what Oli appears to be doing is building a broader bench of partnerships, ones that go beyond aid and charity narratives.

Take this table, for example—recent Nepal bilateral meetings by region in the last 12 months:

It’s clear the net is being cast wider—and with purpose.

Why These Meetings Matter, Even If They’re Not Headline-Grabbing

You might ask: so what? Two quick chats on the side of a conference and a couple of press photos. Does it really move the needle?

Actually, yeah, it does. Especially for a country like Nepal, often boxed in by its geography and overshadowed by its larger neighbors.

These kinds of diplomatic conversations matter for three big reasons:

• They open doors to alternative sources of development financing.

• They let Nepal frame its needs directly—rather than filtered through regional power lenses.

• They expand the country’s network in a world where connections often equal capital.

And here’s the kicker—these engagements help Nepal pivot from a narrative of vulnerability to one of agency. It’s about showing up. Being in the room. Speaking up.

Oli’s Team: Who’s Steering the Ship?

This diplomatic recalibration hasn’t come out of nowhere. Behind Oli’s quiet stagecraft is a crew of seasoned hands who know how to read the room in forums like Seville.

Bishnu Prasad Rimal, often seen as Oli’s policy brain, has long pushed for Nepal to adopt a more pragmatic, opportunity-seeking foreign policy. Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, meanwhile, has been active in forging Nepal’s emerging ties with Latin America and Africa—regions once barely on Kathmandu’s radar.

There’s also been a push within the Foreign Ministry to get embassies out of “reporting mode” and into deal-making mode. That means commercial diplomacy, not just protocol. That shift was visible in Seville.

One insider put it this way: “It’s not flashy diplomacy. But it’s what Nepal needs—relationship building that’s slow, deliberate, and meaningful.”

What Comes Next? Possibly More Than You Think

The conference wraps in a few days. Then comes the follow-through.

There’s talk of an Egypt-Nepal working group on technical education. Portugal’s cultural ministry is reportedly eyeing a joint museum exhibition with Nepalese artists. And Kathmandu is already drawing up a pitch for EU green development grants—with some quiet lobbying expected from Lisbon.

One sentence.

None of these are game-changers by themselves. But stack them up—and you start to see a pattern: Nepal is quietly putting its chess pieces in place.