Nepal PM Shah Meets India Envoy, Calls for Deepening ‘Historic’ Ties

Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Monday held his first one-on-one meeting with Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava after assuming office, with the two sides discussing ways to further strengthen Nepal-India bilateral relations.

Shah met Srivastava at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar, where discussions focused on bilateral ties, mutual interests, development partnership and areas of cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, according to the prime minister’s secretariat.

During the meeting, Shah emphasised the need to deepen Nepal’s “historic relationship” with India and expand cooperation in areas of shared interest.

Srivastava congratulated Shah and conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian envoy said he had an “engaging and productive” exchange with Shah on further deepening the robust and multifaceted India-Nepal partnership.

The meeting assumes significance as Shah has begun moving away from his earlier approach of avoiding one-on-one engagements with foreign ambassadors and senior visiting officials.

Shah is also scheduled to hold a separate meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming on Monday, while US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Scott Urbom is expected to meet him on Tuesday.

Earlier, Shah had declined one-on-one meetings with senior US officials, including 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. He later broke that practice by meeting Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda during his visit to Nepal in July.

The latest engagement with the Indian ambassador comes amid efforts to strengthen Nepal’s relations with its key neighbours. Shah has so far not visited either India or China, with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal undertaking separate visits to New Delhi and Beijing in June.