Kathmandu, Aug 10: India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
During the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the two exchanged views on Nepal-India relations, bilateral friendship, matters of mutual interest, development partnership and cooperation, among others, according to the Prime Minister’s Press and Research Expert Dipa Dahal.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the need to further deepen the historic ties between Nepal and India and foster cooperation in the areas of collective interests.
The ambassador wished the Prime Minister a successful term, promising to make further efforts to further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.
China’s Ambassador to Nepal, Zhang Maoming, is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Shah today, itself.
Shah, who became prime minister on March 27, held his first reported meeting with an ambassador from a neighbouring country nearly four months after assuming office.
Earlier, Shah had declined to meet Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during his proposed visit to Nepal on May 11. Misri’s visit was subsequently postponed at the last minute. He had been scheduled to visit Nepal to engage with the new government and discuss the possibility of Shah making a visit to India.
Shah has now begun direct engagements with ambassadors of Nepal’s neighbouring countries as his government faces a series of challenges.
The meeting with the Indian envoy comes amid efforts by the Shah-led government to strengthen diplomatic engagement with Nepal’s immediate neighbours.
The two sides also discussed further deepening cooperation and the longstanding multidimensional partnership between Nepal and India, according to the Indian Embassy.
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