Agencies | Kathmandu:
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra “Balen” Shah is set to depart from his self-imposed policy of avoiding one-on-one meetings with Kathmandu-based ambassadors, with separate meetings planned this week with the envoys of India and China.
According to The Kathmandu Post, Shah is expected to meet Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming on the same day, underscoring Nepal’s commitment to maintaining balanced relations with its two neighbours.
While the exact dates are yet to be officially announced, a senior Nepal government source told NDTV that the meetings are likely to be confirmed soon. The development comes just over a month after the Shah government completed its first 100 days in office.
Since assuming office following Nepal’s Gen Z-led political uprising, Shah has broken with long-standing diplomatic convention by declining individual meetings with foreign ambassadors. Instead, he has twice convened joint interactions with Kathmandu-based envoys.
Traditionally, newly elected Nepalese prime ministers meet foreign ambassadors individually at the Prime Minister’s Office or official residence shortly after taking office.
Shah has made only one exception so far, meeting Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda during his three-day visit to Nepal in early July.
In recent weeks, Shah has also broadened his outreach by holding regular meetings with representatives of the business community, including traders, contractors, industrialists and exporters.
“The prime minister has started meeting various stakeholders over the past two weeks. We have now concluded that he should also engage with foreign ambassadors and diplomats. It is only natural to begin with the ambassadors of our two neighbours, India and China, given Nepal’s foreign policy priorities,” an aide to the prime minister told The Kathmandu Post.
Shah assumed office as Nepal’s prime minister on March 27. Since then, he has reportedly declined several requests for individual meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries, including senior US officials. According to reports, he did not meet US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Samir Paul Kapur or President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, during their visits to Nepal.
