Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who has so far maintained a self-imposed rule of not holding one-on-one meetings with Kathmandu-based ambassadors, is set to break with the rule this week.

Aides to the prime minister and diplomatic sources confirmed to the Post that the prime minister is going to meet the Indian and Chinese ambassadors separately. While the exact dates have yet to be announced, the meetings, being coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are expected to take place this week. The decision comes shortly after the government completed its first 100 days in office.

Departing from long-standing diplomatic practices in Nepal, Shah had refused to meet foreign envoys individually after assuming office. Instead, he held joint meetings with Kathmandu-based ambassadors on April 9 and May 26, a move that was widely praised by Nepali diplomats, foreign policy experts and observers as a more transparent and equitable approach to diplomatic engagement.

The only exception was his meeting with Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda, who was on a three-day visit to Nepal beginning July 6.

In a departure from his earlier practice of avoiding meetings even with domestic stakeholders, Shah has recently been engaging regularly with 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,” an aide to the prime minister said. “It is only natural to begin with the ambassadors of our two neighbours, India and China, given Nepal's foreign policy priorities.”

To underscore that New Delhi and Beijing are equally important to Nepal, Shah is scheduled to meet Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming on the same day.

Shah, who took office as prime minister on March 27, had initially refused to meet even senior US diplomats visiting Nepal. He turned down requests from the US Embassy in Kathmandu to meet US 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.

US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers also did not get an audience with the prime minister during her visit.

In the past, the newly elected prime ministers would meet foreign ambassadors individually at the Prime Minister’s Office or their official residence within days of assuming office.