New Diplomatic Practices Under Prime Minister Balen's Administration

Kathmandu. A new practice in diplomacy has begun since the government led by Rastriya Swatantra Party's senior leader Balendra (Balen) Shah was formed.

The tradition of ambassadors and diplomats from various countries meeting the Prime Minister individually to offer congratulations has been broken. Prime Minister Balen, who took the oath of office on Chaitra 13, met all ambassadors and heads of missions in Nepal collectively on Chaitra 25.

Prime Minister Balen broke the custom of individual meetings for the sake of congratulations and well-wishes. He met all ambassadors at once. He did not just accept congratulations and well-wishes, but also briefed the ambassadors on foreign policy.

Since that event, no ambassador or diplomatic mission representative has come to meet him. Previously, there used to be a queue of ambassadors at the Prime Minister's office and residence to offer congratulations. Schedules were packed with meetings, but this time, Prime Minister Balen has completely stopped this rule.

Even US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, who was visiting Nepal, did not meet with Balen, and Lu has already returned. Previously, in every such high-level visit, meetings with the Prime Minister were standard, and courtesy calls were made to the President, Prime Minister, ministers, and various party leaders. But this time, that tradition has been broken.

Lu did meet with RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. However, the US Embassy in Nepal stated that he did not meet with any leaders from other parties. An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, 'This visit was initiated by the US; we did not just coordinate it, all meetings and activities were conducted according to the schedule they created. There was no interference from Nepal's side.'

He stated that since they had already decided whom to meet and whom not to, Nepal played a coordinating role to make Lu's visit successful. During high-level visits, the President, Prime Minister, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used to host dinners in their honor, but that was not seen this time either.

All of these can be considered the new government's diplomatic practices. A member of Prime Minister Balen's secretariat says, 'This is a new government, a Gen-Z government; it does not run on the old ways, it wants to bring change in everything.'

He says that since this is a start in the diplomatic field, further actions are being taken. However, he did not want to say anything about whether Lu and the Prime Minister met or not. Not only that, after the Balen government was formed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even provided training on the diplomatic code of conduct to the newly appointed ministers, conducted by the ministry secretary. This can also be considered a new practice in the Balen government's diplomacy.

Previously, ministers were informed about the diplomatic code of conduct through various means, but this is the first time it was done in a group at the Prime Minister's office with a projector. After that training, ministers have appeared very cautious in diplomatic matters. They have completely stopped unnecessary meetings. Now, any diplomat or ambassador must take permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when going to meet any minister or anyone else. A rule has been made to send an official from the relevant division of the Foreign Ministry to almost every meeting. The previous tradition of ambassadors meeting at will has been broken.

The lack of a meeting between Lu, who visited from the US, and Balen has become a topic of discussion.

'It is not mandatory to meet the Prime Minister'

Former Foreign Minister Bheshraj Thapa says that the visit of US Assistant Secretary Lu happened according to the new situation. 'How to make foreign policy dignified and disciplined depends on the government,' he said, 'Bilateral meetings depend on the situation.'

He believes that since any visit is prepared in advance, who did not want to meet depends on the situation and purpose. 'In the past, during high-level visits, meetings with Prime Ministers would happen even if just for a courtesy call,' he explained, 'That has been broken this time.' Although he could not explain the reason for the lack of a meeting between Lu and the Prime Minister, he said that a 'different situation' has played a role.

However, foreign affairs expert Arun Subedi says that there was no mandatory condition for Lu to meet the President and Prime Minister. 'The Foreign Minister and Finance Minister are also the government, but he should have met the opposition leader,' he said, 'He should have listened to his views too, which did not happen.'

There have been incidents in the past where high-level visitors did not meet the Prime Minister or President. 'It is not that they must meet, but since he came on an official visit, he should have met the opposition party leaders; that is a matter to be looked into,' he clarified.

Subedi's argument is that rather than whether Lu met anyone during his Nepal visit, what he did and said is more important. 'After meeting the Foreign Minister and Finance Minister, what was discussed, and what was mentioned in the statement issued upon departure, needs to be studied,' he said.

According to another former ambassador, Vijay Kant Karna, Lu did not meet the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh during his visits there before coming to Nepal. 'Even if he doesn't meet the Prime Minister, it doesn't make a difference if he meets the line ministry and doesn't meet others,' he stated.