KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah is set to hold his first-ever one-on-one meeting with a foreign dignitary this Tuesday, hosting Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda at Singha Durbar.

Arriving on Monday, Kanda is scheduled to first sign a bilateral aid agreement and hold separate talks with Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, followed by a welcome dinner in his honor.

PM Shah has yet to meet with any foreign official in an exclusive, individual setting since taking office.

He previously declined solo meeting requests from top US and Indian envoys—preferring collective diplomatic briefings instead—as part of a strategy to centralize foreign policy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.