Nepal PM Balen to meet Indian, Chinese envoys separately
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah, popularly known as Balen, is scheduled to hold separate meetings with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors on Monday as his government begins a new phase of direct diplomatic engagement.
Shah is expected to meet Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava first, followed later in the day by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming. He will then meet US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Scott Urbom on Tuesday, along with other foreign representatives.
The meetings will be Shah’s first separate engagements with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors since he assumed office on March 27 following a decisive electoral victory.
The prime minister had earlier chosen a different diplomatic approach. On April 8, he held a joint courtesy meeting with 17 ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions based in Kathmandu, including representatives of India and China, rather than meeting them individually.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry has informed the respective embassies about the scheduled meetings. Officials said the discussions are expected to be introductory, with the ambassadors providing updates on bilateral ties and conveying messages from their governments.
The meetings had been postponed amid communal unrest in Nepal’s Terai and Madhesh regions. Shah had previously stayed away from several one-on-one diplomatic meetings. He had, for instance, declined meetings with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Samir Paul Kapur and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor.
His position softened in July when he met Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda during Kanda’s three-day visit to Nepal beginning July 6.
The decision to schedule separate meetings with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors on the same day is also being closely watched for indications of the government’s foreign-policy priorities.