Nepal PM meets ADB President in first one-on-one meeting with foreign dignitary
Kathmandu, July 7
Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who had avoided one-on-one meetings with foreign officials since taking office, held his first such meeting on Tuesday with visiting Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda.
Instead of meeting foreign diplomats individually, Shah has so far preferred collective interactions with Ambassadors, seeking to maintain a strict protocol governing such engagements.
Three and a half months after assuming office on March 27, Shah met Kanda, who heads one of Nepal's largest multilateral development partners, the Prime Minister's Secretariat confirmed. Kanda is a former Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs and was recently reappointed as ADB President.
During the meeting, held in the context of further strengthening the six-decade-long development partnership between the Government of Nepal and the ADB, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation, Prime Minister Shah's Secretariat said in a statement.
According to Deepa Dahal, Press and Research Advisor to Prime Minister Shah, the half-hour meeting saw the Prime Minister express confidence that Nepal would achieve a new phase of development in the coming years through good governance and transparency.
"The two sides also held positive discussions on promoting hydropower and tourism as the backbone of Nepal's economy, as well as expanding cooperation in digitalization and tourism road infrastructure," the Secretariat stated.
During the meeting, ADB President Kanda reaffirmed the ADB's commitment to expanding its development assistance to Nepal, stating that the bank would continue to serve as a long-term development partner in supporting the country's economic growth and prosperity.
He also praised Nepal's significant economic potential, strong public mandate, and young leadership, reiterating that the ADB would continue to stand by Nepal in its development journey.
Kanda said Nepal's young leadership and commitment to reform are inspiring.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shah had declined requests to meet Paul Kapur, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department, and Sergio Gor, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs and the US Ambassador to India. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's planned visit to Nepal was also reportedly postponed a few weeks ago.
Breaking with the long-standing practice of holding informal meetings with foreign envoys, Shah has been enforcing a stricter protocol on whom he meets, prompting debate in some quarters over whether the approach will strengthen or undermine Nepal's national interests.
On April 8, Shah held a collective interaction with Kathmandu-based diplomats. Later, on May 26, he met jointly with 23 European Union Ambassadors and deputy heads of mission, as well as envoys based in Kathmandu and New Delhi representing Thailand, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, Finland, Malaysia, and Brazil.
It remains unclear whether Shah's meeting with ADB President Kanda signals a broader shift toward holding individual meetings with foreign dignitaries.
Foreign policy experts say the Prime Minister's decision on whom to meet should be guided by Nepal's national interests rather than by a rigid protocol.
Arun Subedi, a former foreign policy adviser to then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, told IANS that Shah's decision to meet the ADB President was appropriate given that the ADB is one of Nepal's most important development partners and lenders.
"Our relations with institutions such as the ADB and the World Bank are also lender-borrower relationships, and meeting their top officials serves Nepal's national interest," he said.
Subedi added that the protocol should not become a barrier to meeting representatives of countries or institutions that are strategically important to Nepal.
"Even though Nepal officially follows a policy of non-alignment, that should not prevent it from giving special priority to certain countries or institutions because of their importance to Nepal," he said.
After arriving in Nepal on Monday, Kanda earlier met Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle the same day. According to the Finance Minister's Secretariat, Wagle thanked Kanda for the ADB's continued support and investment in Nepal's development and requested the Bank's continued cooperation in the years ahead.
The Government of Nepal and the ADB also signed financing agreements for two projects supported by concessional loans totaling US$165 million.
"A US$115 million project will improve water supply and sanitation services for more than 850,000 people across municipalities," Kanda said in a social media post. "Another US$50 million loan will modernize the systems that move goods across Nepal's borders, helping Nepali businesses compete more effectively."
On the same day, Kanda, together with Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and Norway's Ambassador to Nepal Dagny Mjøs, virtually inaugurated two electricity transmission substations.
The substations are expected to strengthen the electricity supply in Kathmandu and other major demand centres.
Kanda also visited the Distribution Command and Control Center and the ADB-financed Data Center, where real-time monitoring and improved data management are helping strengthen Nepal's power system.
"These investments are helping lay the foundations for cross-border power trade. ADB will continue supporting Nepal in harnessing clean energy as a driver of growth and deeper regional integration across South Asia," Kanda said.
The ADB currently has an active portfolio of US$3.94 billion in Nepal, the multilateral development bank said.
— IANS
Leave a comment