India, China and Israel Grant Approval for Nepal’s New Ambassadors
Nepal’s diplomatic appointment process has moved forward after India, China and Israel granted formal approval for three newly nominated ambassadors. The diplomatic clearances, known as agrément, have been issued for Dr. Nischal Nath Pandey, who has been nominated as Nepal’s ambassador to India, Kalyan Raj Sharma for China and Suresh Karna for Israel. According to sources at Nepal’s Foreign Ministry, the approvals have removed an important hurdle ahead of their official appointments by the President. The three nominees are part of a group of 10 candidates recently endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee from an initial list of 13 individuals selected through an open application process.
However, the remaining seven candidates nominated for diplomatic postings in the United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Germany and Oman are still waiting for approval from their respective host countries. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry has started preparing recommendations to appoint new representatives to nine diplomatic missions previously occupied by career civil servants. While Nepal’s diplomatic posts in Russia, Australia, Oman and Spain remain vacant, the government led by Balendra (Balen) Shah has temporarily extended the expired tenures of outgoing ambassadors in Bangladesh, Brazil, Myanmar, Bahrain and Egypt. These extensions will remain in place until suitable replacements are appointed, according to the report.
