Nepal’s Council of Ministers on Friday recommended ambassadors for 13 countries, including India, China, the US and the UK, to fill several posts that had remained vacant for some time.
The recommendations were made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, according to the secretariat of Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal.
Nishchal Nath Pandey has been recommended as Nepal’s ambassador to India, while Kalyan Raj Sharma, Chiranjung Thapa and former Nepal Army chief Gaurav Shumsher Rana have been proposed as ambassadors to China, the US and the UK, respectively.
Pandey is currently the director of the Centre for South Asian Studies, a think-tank based in Kathmandu.
He previously served as executive director of the International Affairs Study Academy under Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for eight years.
Pandey holds an LLB and a PhD in Political Science from Tribhuvan University and is an honorary associate professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru.
The names of Nepal’s ambassadors to Japan, Israel, Spain, Germany, Oman, Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia were also recommended during Friday’s meeting.
The names will be sent to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee for approval before the government seeks agrément from the respective countries.
An agrément is the formal approval given by a host country to accept a proposed ambassador or head of mission from another country before their official appointment.
Nepal’s President will formally appoint the ambassadors after the necessary procedures are completed.
-PTI
