Nepal, May 29 -- This photograph of Chinese and Indian registered vehicles alongside a Nepali motorcyclist this week on a bumpy stretch of the highway named after Nepal's founding king Prithvi Narayan Shah is symbolic of the state of the country's foreign policy.

In a significant departure from his famous unwillingness to greet international envoys, Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Tuesday met collectively with a delegation of ambassadors and diplomats from the EU and other countries.

Given his reclusiveness, the guests were made to feel honoured and lucky. He had earlier refused to meet US president's special emissary in charge of South and Central Asia Sergio Gor, as well as Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and British Minister f...