ANIL GIRI

Senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have reacted with dismay to the new ambassadorial nominations, a day after the Cabinet recommended 14 envoys for Nepal’s diplomatic outposts.

They say the decision to open a new embassy in Spain came as a surprise as the ministry was not consulted before the Cabinet announcement.

The officials also objected to some of the candidates nominated for the Gulf missions, particularly those representing the foreign employment recruiting agencies.

Many nominees were incapable of conducting diplomacy, they charged, saying that the Foreign Ministry is blamed ultimately for the mess created by the political leadership with haphazard recommendations.

The agenda to open a new mission in Spain was never seriously discussed in the ministry, said an official, warning that such political meddling would seriously impact the conduct of foreign policy. “How can we expect results and good diplomacy if such faces represent our country abroad,” a senior official at the ministry told the Post on condition of anonymity.

Two nominees—Asha Lama and Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal—operate a foreign employment agency and an NGO working on welfare of migrant workers.

Lama, who is recommended for the UAE, runs the Asha Foundation that works on issues related to foreign employment and is the principal of Daffodil School. Dhakal, who runs a recruitment agency, was picked to head Nepal’s embassy in Oman.

Ramesh Koirala, recommended for Qatar, teaches at Baneshwor Campus in the Capital. He was an advisor to former labour minister Tek Bahadur Gurung.

“We are surprised to see the background and resume of the proposed ambassadors,” said a top official. “If any conflict of interest arises, the ministry will not tolerate it.”

Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat did not answer repeated phone calls. His public relations adviser Yekraj Patkak, however, said the effort was to make ambassadorial appointments more inclusive.

Three top Foreign Ministry officials said the ruling parties had decided to open the new mission in Spain to have enough vacancies to share between them for sustaining the coalition.

Presenting an earlier case, they said it had taken four months to pass budgetary and organisational proposals from the Ministries of Finance and General Administration when the KP Sharma Oli-led government decided to open a mission in Austria.

Published on: 22 February 2017 | The Kathmandu post