Kathmandu: The Nepali government has recommended foreign-policy expert Nishchal Nath Pandey as the country’s next Ambassador to India, along with candidates for ambassadorial posts in 12 other countries.
A cabinet meeting held Friday under the leadership of Prime Minister Balendra Shah recommended Pandey for the key diplomatic post in New Delhi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Under Nepal’s Constitution, ambassadorial nominees are required to go through the parliamentary hearing process.
Following the completion of the hearings, the government will seek agreement from the respective countries. Once agreement is received, President Ram Chandra Paudel will formally appoint the candidates as ambassadors.
Pandey is one of Nepal’s well-established foreign policy academics and currently serves as Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS).
He previously served as Executive Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs under Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2006. He also served as an Advisor to the National Planning Commission on tourism and civil aviation in 1996–97.
Pandey was an expert with Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2016 and a member of a government-appointed high-level task force on foreign policy in 2017.
He holds a Ph.D. in political science and a bachelor’s degree in law from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He is an honorary adjunct professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru and a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he previously served as a visiting research fellow.
He has also held visiting fellowships at Germany’s Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), or the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in Berlin, and at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. He served on the board of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in Colombo from 2011 to 2019. Pandey is also the son of former Nepali Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey.
Besides recommending an Ambassador for India, the Cabinet meeting on Friday also recommended Ambassadors for China, the United States and other countries.
Following the formation of the current government in late March, several Ambassadors who had been political appointees were recalled in April.
Former Nepali Ambassador to India Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma was also recalled at the same time. The Nepali government subsequently decided to adopt a competitive appointment process for ambassadorial posts and invited applications from individuals who considered themselves eligible for the positions.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said the government had recommended highly qualified individuals with expertise and experience in various fields for ambassadorial positions.
(IANS)
