KATHMANDU, Aug. 11: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has begun bilateral meetings with foreign ambassadors, signaling a shift from his earlier insistence on strictly following diplomatic protocol.
For the first four and a half months of his tenure, Shah largely kept foreign diplomats at arm’s length, choosing to engage them through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and only when deemed appropriate under diplomatic protocol. His approach differed from that of previous prime ministers, whose offices and residences were generally more accessible to foreign diplomats.
The policy was welcomed by some as an effort to bring greater discipline to diplomatic engagements but also created distance between the prime minister and the diplomatic community.
That appears to be changing.
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On Monday, Shah held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Nepal’s two immediate neighbors, India and China, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar. He first met Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava and later Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming. Both meetings lasted about 45 minutes and were attended by Foreign Ministry officials.
The discussions focused on bilateral relations, mutual interests, development partnerships and areas of cooperation.
Following his meeting with Shah, Srivastava said they discussed ways to further deepen the “robust, multi-faceted” India-Nepal partnership and conveyed greetings from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Shah emphasized strengthening Nepal’s historic relations with India and cooperation in areas of mutual interest. He conveyed a similar message during his meeting with the Chinese ambassador, stressing the need to deepen Nepal-China ties and expand cooperation.
The renewed engagement comes after Shah’s earlier policy reportedly prevented several senior foreign officials from meeting him during visits to Nepal, including senior U.S. officials who had sought appointments with the prime minister.
There was also uncertainty over a possible visit by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, partly over whether he would be able to meet Shah. Misri’s visit did not materialize, while discussions over Shah’s possible India visit also remained inconclusive.
Soon after taking office, Shah had invited heads and representatives of diplomatic missions to Singha Durbar for a collective briefing. Diplomatic observers, however, argued that such meetings could not substitute for regular high-level bilateral engagement.
Against this backdrop, Shah’s latest meetings are seen as a more pragmatic approach that seeks to balance diplomatic protocol with the need for direct political engagement.
The outreach to India and China could also mark the beginning of a broader recalibration of Shah’s foreign policy at a time when his government faces growing public dissatisfaction and heightened expectations to bring economic prosperity by maintaining strong relations with key external partners.
