Breaking Tradition, Prime Minister Shah Skips Ceremonial Farewells

Kathmandu — Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who is departing for New York, USA, to attend the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, is breaking away from traditional farewell protocols.

According to his private secretariat, Prime Minister Shah, leading a high-level Nepali delegation departing for New York on Tuesday afternoon, will not hold a grand formal farewell.

Unlike past protocol, no formal farewell program has been scheduled at the VIP lounge of Tribhuvan International Airport. He will travel directly from Baluwatar to the airport and proceed to the aircraft via the VIP pathway.

"The Prime Minister is busy at Singha Durbar all day with important meetings," said Deepa Dahal, the Prime Minister's press advisor. "Following that, he is scheduled to head to the airport from his residence at 6:20 PM and depart for New York via Qatar Airways at 7:00 PM. I do not have further details regarding other arrangements."

Secretariat sources noted that while previous prime ministers held formal airport ceremonies in the VIP lounge prior to foreign visits, Shah is choosing to break this tradition.

Typically, ministers, heads of security agencies, high-ranking officials, foreign diplomats, and political party leaders gather at the airport for a prime minister's send-off, but no invitations were extended for Tuesday evening.

Additionally, while it is customary for the Nepali Army to present a Guard of Honour during a prime minister's departure, no such ceremony has been arranged. Formal events were bypassed as the nation remains in mourning following disastrous flooding along the Bhote Koshi River.

Prime Minister Shah is scheduled to address the high-level session of the General Assembly on September 24 (Asoj 8). Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal, who is part of the delegation led by Shah, has already arrived in New York.

A meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres is also on the agenda. Prime Minister Shah will return home on September 26 (Asoj 10).