Government Faces Challenges in Appointing 13 Ambassadors After 100 Days

Kathmandu. The current government has completed 100 days in office. Respective ministries are publicizing the list of work done during this period, and the government has claimed this period to be encouraging.

The government, formed on March 27, 2025 (Baisakh 13, 2082 BS), publicized its 100-day achievements on July 4 (Ashad 20, 2082 BS). However, there was no mention of progress on ambassadorial appointments, considered a significant aspect of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government had called for applications (advertisement) for ambassadorial appointments on May 28 (Jestha 14, 2082 BS). Although a month and a half have passed since the advertisement was opened, ambassadors have not yet been appointed.

The government led by Balen, stating the establishment of good governance and transparency, had recalled 6 ambassadors appointed to India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Denmark, and South Africa on April 6 (Chaitra 24, 2081 BS).

Prior to that, by a decision on October 15, 2024 (Ashwin 29, 2081 BS), the government led by Sushila Karki had already recalled 11 ambassadors appointed to China, Germany, Malaysia, Israel, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Japan.

In other words, the previous governments have recalled all ambassadors sent through political appointments by the government before the Gen Z movement.

After 17 ambassadors were recalled, those embassies have been running on acting charge and have been vacant for the past 10 months. Among those 17 countries, the government has also announced the closure of three Nepali embassies in Denmark, Brazil, and South Africa.

Out of the remaining 14 embassies, the government had opened applications for 13 countries including America, China, India, Britain, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Malaysia, Bahrain, Oman, Israel, Bangladesh, and Austria, for which more than four thousand people have applied.

From the applications received, the government has shortlisted 2700 people. Preparations are underway to appoint 13 ambassadors from these 2700 people, for which officials from the Prime Minister's Office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are engaged.

However, the government is facing significant difficulties in appointing these 13 ambassadors.

Lok Bahadur Chhetri, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed that procedural discussions are ongoing on the received applications. He said, 'Far more applications have been received than the number of ambassadors requested, and homework is being done to select suitable candidates from them.'

• Reason for Delay

A total of 34 Nepali ambassadors are to be appointed in various countries, including 3 permanent missions to the United Nations. According to the Ambassador Appointment Directive, 2075 BS, 50 percent of the total ambassadors are selected from serving Gazetted Special or First Class officers of the Foreign Service (career diplomats), while the remaining 50 percent are appointed from distinguished individuals, experts, or through political quotas. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advertised for appointments from the distinguished individual and expert quotas.

According to an official from the Prime Minister's Office, the delay is due to the difficulty in selecting suitable individuals as this is a political appointment. 'Since this is also a political matter, some delay is natural; if appointments were to be made from career diplomats, this work would have been completed much earlier. Since it is a political appointment, it is normal for it to take some time,' he said.

Members of the Prime Minister's Secretariat are continuously working on this task in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Work is underway to remove duplicate names of the same person from the application forms. The official added, 'Some have submitted two forms for the same country, while some do not meet the qualifications. All these aspects are being examined very meticulously. Selecting only 13 people from so many aspirants is a very challenging task.'

Although efforts were made to complete this work within the government's first 100 days, it was not possible. The government has stated that it has initiated a new process by recalling those who received political appointments in the past with the objective of establishing good governance.

Although individuals are selected through advertisement, the appointment process will be in accordance with the Ambassador Appointment Directive, 2075 BS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified.

Previously, names for ambassadorial appointments were decided based on recommendations from political parties and their leaders. This time, however, names are being selected based on qualifications by issuing a public notice. Former Ambassador Dip Kumar Upadhyay stated that while this appointment process is positive, its success will depend on the qualifications and capabilities of the individuals selected.

He said that the government's transparency can only be measured once the final list is out. 'Leaving embassies without leadership for a long time is not considered good from a diplomatic perspective. Therefore, the government should expedite the ambassador appointment process, even if it means putting other tasks on hold,' he suggested.