Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Monday held a one-on-one meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming, continuing his shift away from a self-imposed policy of engaging foreign diplomats collectively.

The meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar came hours after Shah held a separate meeting with Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava, marking his first individual engagements with Kathmandu-based foreign ambassadors since taking office on March 27.

During his meeting with Zhang, Shah stressed the need to further deepen Nepal’s “historic relationship” with China and work together in areas of mutual interest.

Zhang congratulated Shah and expressed his commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation, the secretariat said.

The meetings mark a departure from Shah’s earlier practice of avoiding individual meetings not only with foreign ambassadors but also with senior visiting officials. He had instead held joint meetings with foreign ambassadors, including on April 9 and May 26.

Shah’s decision to meet the ambassadors of Nepal’s two immediate neighbours separately on the same day appears intended to underscore their equal importance to Nepal.

The meetings with the Indian and Chinese ambassadors had originally been planned two weeks ago but were deferred following communal violence in Sunsari and other districts.