People familiar with the matter said the meeting was believed to be Shah’s first face-to-face interaction with a foreign diplomat.
Shah has not yet taken a final decision on any foreign visit. This is because he had decided not to undertake any foreign trip during his first year in office after assuming the post.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman, who has been invited to India under the BRICS Summit outreach programme along with some regional groups, may visit India separately before the summit. However, there has been no confirmation yet, and the proposal for a standalone visit is still under consideration.
Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava said he held a 45-minute meeting with Shah at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar, where both sides discussed ways to strengthen relations between Nepal and India. The talks focused on further deepening the multidimensional and strong partnership between the two countries.
Srivastava also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to the Nepal Prime Minister. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said the discussions were aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation within the framework of the longstanding, multidimensional partnership between the two countries.
The meeting assumes significance as there had been no reports of Balendra Shah meeting an ambassador from any of Nepal’s neighbouring countries since he became Prime Minister on March 27.
His interaction with the Indian Ambassador is considered particularly important because Shah was earlier scheduled to meet India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during his proposed visit to Nepal on May 11. However, Misri’s visit was later postponed at the last minute.
The renewed invitation for Shah to visit New Delhi and the 45-minute meeting in Kathmandu mark an important diplomatic engagement between Nepal and India as both sides discuss ways to deepen their longstanding and multidimensional partnership.
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