Why Nepal PM Balendra Shah is meeting India, China ambassadors after 100 days in office

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 24, 2026 12:15 AM IST

Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who has till now followed his self-imposed protocol of not holding any meetings with foreign ambassadors, is reportedly set to break the pact and meet Indian and Chinese envoys separately this week.

According to The Kathmandu Post report citing PM Shah’s aides, he is poised to meet the Indian and Chinese ambassadors this week in Kathmandu separately, which is being coordinated by Nepal’s foreign ministry, though no specific dates have been announced till now.

India’s Naveen Srivastava, China’s Zhang Maoming to meet PM separately

PM Shah would meet India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming reportedly on the same day. The development comes as Balendra Shah’s government recently completed its first 100 days in office.

The Nepalese newspaper highlighted that Shah is meeting with the ambassadors to underscore that New Delhi and Beijing are equally important for Kathmandu.

“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,” the prime minister’s aide said as reported by The Kathmandu Post.

“It is only natural to begin with the ambassadors of our two neighbours, India and China, given Nepal’s foreign policy priorities,” the aide added.

Shah had earlier declined meetings with senior US officials

Balendra Shah, who became the prime minister on March 27 after a massive Gen Z agitation in the country, had initially refused to have an audience with senior US diplomats who were visiting Nepal.

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The report added that Shah had declined 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.

Departure from long-standing diplomatic practice

Traditionally, every newly elected prime minister would meet foreign envoys within a few days of assuming office, either at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or at the ambassadors’ official residences, in separate courtesy meetings.

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