Prime Minister Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ is set to hold separate bilateral meetings focusing on bilateral relations with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors to Nepal on Monday (August 10, 2026), the first such one-on-one diplomatic engagements after more than 100 days in office.
Political Context
In a departure from a long tradition of individual meetings, Mr. The agenda is expected to be largely introductory, with the ambassadors briefing Mr. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Samir Paul Kapur and President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor. Mr.
Shah, who was sworn-in on March 27 after a landslide win, held a joint courtesy meeting on April 8 with as many as 17 Kathmandu-based Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions, including those from India and China, at Singhadurbar, the prime minister’s office. On Sunday (August 9, 2026), Foreign Ministry sources said Mr. Shah will meet Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava on Monday morning (August 10, 2026) and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming later that afternoon. Shah broke his self-imposed rule by holding a one-on-one meeting with Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda, who visited Nepal for three days beginning July 6.
“The Indian ambassador is told to come first, followed by the Chinese ambassador. So both ambassadors are meeting the prime minister on the same day, but the earlier and later timings also show the foreign policy priority of the government,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told The Kathmandu Post. The Foreign Ministry has communicated the appointments to the respective embassies, the Post said quoting a prime ministerial adviser. Shah on the state of bilateral relations and conveying any messages from their respective governments, it said.
The Prime Minister had earlier avoided one-on-one engagements and even declined to meet the U.S.
