Nepal PM Balendra Shah meets India, China envoys

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah held talks with India's ambassador on Monday and was due to meet China's envoy later in the day, his office said, in his first one-on-one meetings with envoys from the two neighbouring powers.

Shah's office said the meeting with India's ambassador covered “Nepal-India bilateral friendship, mutual interests, development partnership, and areas of cooperation.”

Shah, a 36-year-old rapper-turned-leader better known as “Balen,” has kept a low profile since taking power in March and has largely avoided hosting foreign envoys individually. He had previously met foreign ambassadors in groups, while Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal visited China and India in June.

Before his election, Shah told AFP that he wanted to “maintain a natural relationship” with both countries.

Nepal, a landlocked Himalayan country of 30 million people, must balance relations with India and China. India is Nepal's largest trading partner, accounting for 63% of its imports, or $8.6 billion, followed by China at 13%, or $1.8 billion, according to World Bank figures.

The planned meeting with China's envoy comes after organisers said a major international academic conference on Tibet, due to bring more than 700 delegates to Kathmandu later this month, was stopped from taking place inside Nepal. No reason has been given, and Nepal's government has denied ordering the move.