India, China invite PM Shah to visit as he opens up diplomatic engagement

Prime Minister Balendra Shah of Nepal received separate invitations from the Indian and Chinese ambassadors to visit their respective countries on Monday, signaling a notable shift in his approach to diplomatic engagement. Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava extended an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming also invited Shah to China. Although Shah acknowledged both invitations, he did not commit to specific dates or visits, according to officials familiar with the meetings.

Ambassador Srivastava reportedly urged Shah to visit India before his retirement at the end of August, to which the prime minister responded that he would visit at an appropriate time. Shah also assured the Indian ambassador of his government's readiness to remove any obstacles hindering India-funded projects in Nepal and inquired about any shortcomings. Discussions also touched upon future projects, including a potential Janakpur-Ayodhya rail link and a Buddhist circuit. The Indian ambassador briefed Shah on challenges faced by Indian companies operating in Nepal.

“

Since I am retiring in August-end, it would be a great pleasure if you visit India by then.

These back-to-back meetings, occurring after four and a half months of Shah's premiership, indicate a departure from his earlier policy of limiting individual diplomatic engagements. This move suggests a desire to maintain balanced relations with Nepal's two powerful neighbors. The scheduling of meetings with both ambassadors on the same day appears intended to underscore their equal importance to Nepal, though the sequence broadly aligns with the government's stated foreign policy priority of engaging India first, followed by China.

The meetings also represent a break from Shah's self-imposed moratorium on individual meetings with foreign diplomats after assuming office. Previously, he had opted for joint meetings with Kathmandu-based ambassadors. Monday's engagements suggest Shah is now opening up his interactions with both domestic stakeholders and foreign representatives. Following his meeting, Indian Ambassador Srivastava described the exchange as "engaging and productive," emphasizing the deepening of the "robust, multi-faceted Nepal-India partnership."

“

I had conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s warm greetings and had an “engaging and productive exchange of views” on further deepening the “robust, multi-faceted Nepal-India partnership”.