3 min readNew DelhiAug 11, 2026 06:13 AM IST
First published on: Aug 11, 2026 at 05:00 AM IST
FIVE MONTHS after being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal, Balen Shah met Indian ambassador in Kathmandu Naveen Srivastava on Monday for the first one-on-one bilateral meeting and discussed strengthening Nepal-India relations, promoting bilateral cooperation and enhancing development partnership for the mutual benefit of two countries.
This is a departure from Shah’s earlier position that he would meet only heads of State and heads of government, and not meet officials who are below that rank.
After the meeting, Nepal Prime Minister’s Office posted on X, “Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister Balendra Shah at Singhadurbar today.”
“On the occasion, discussions were focused on further strengthening Nepal-India relations, promoting bilateral cooperation and enhancing development partnership for the mutual benefit of two countries,” Nepal PMO said.
Indian envoy Srivastava said, “Honoured to call on Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Nepal this morning. Conveyed warm greetings from Prime Minister Modi ji. Had an engaging & productive exchange of views on further deepening robust, multi-faceted India-Nepal partnership”.
Srivastava had met the Nepalese Prime Minister in a group call-on by ambassadors of several countries, just after Shah was sworn-in as the new PM in March this year.
In May, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was expected to visit Kathmandu, where he was expected to call on the Nepal PM, and hand over an invitation to visit India. However, the visit was later deferred as Shah had conveyed that he will not undertake any foreign visits in the near future – at least for the first 100 days of his term. Shah was reluctant to meet visiting foreign officials or leaders below the rank of foreign minister. So, he had also not met visiting US ambassador Sergio Gor, who is also US special envoy on South and Central Asia.
The statements by the Shah government on Lipulekh, objecting to India and China planning to conduct the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the pass, have posed challenges to the ties. India had said that such claims are “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence”, and it remains open to “constructive interaction with Nepal”.
However, they have engaged on issues including water resources, power transmission and developmental projects.
Soon after Shah’s swearing in on March 27, PM Narendra Modi had congratulated him through a post on X, expressing his desire to work closely with Shah to strengthen India-Nepal friendship and deepen cooperation for mutual benefit. This was aimed at resetting the ties, after years of tension with Nepal led by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava (left) with Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah in Kathmandu on Monday. (PTI) 
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