KATHMANDU, Sept. 18: The government has recommended 13 individuals for appointment as ambassadors to key diplomatic missions, including India, China, the United States and the United Kingdom, selecting nominees from diverse backgrounds such as foreign policy, academia, security, development, public administration and the private sector.
A Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Friday endorsed the recommendations for ambassadorial appointments to 13 countries.
Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said the government had nominated qualified individuals with expertise, research credentials, leadership experience and professional accomplishments in their respective fields.
The nominations will now be forwarded to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Following parliamentary endorsement, the government will seek agrément from the respective host countries. The ambassadors will be formally appointed by the President after the completion of the required procedures.
The proposed ambassador to India is Dr Nishchal N. Pandey, one of Nepal’s leading foreign-policy scholars and director of the Centre for South Asian Studies. He previously served as executive director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and has contributed to several government foreign-policy initiatives.
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For China, the government has nominated Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma, a Nepal–China affairs specialist, economist and Sinologist with extensive experience in academic, policy and institutional engagement related to bilateral relations.
Chiran Jung Thapa, nominated as ambassador to the United States of America, is a national security and international affairs expert with experience in diplomacy, crisis management and regional security. He has worked with international organizations including Oxfam, Saferworld and The Asia Foundation and previously served at the Permanent Missions of Nepal and Singapore to the United Nations in New York.
The government has proposed former Chief of Army Staff General Gaurab SJB Rana (Retd.) as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Rana led the Nepali Army from 2012 to 2015 and played a key role in the integration of former Maoist combatants and disaster response operations following the 2015 earthquake.
Jigyan Kumar Thapa has been nominated as ambassador to Japan. He has spent more than two decades promoting Nepal–Japan relations and currently serves as an international cooperation and public policy specialist at the Kanagawa International Foundation.
The proposed ambassador to Israel, Suresh Kumar Karna, is a veteran IT and banking professional who helped launch Nepal’s first mobile wallet and later served as chief operating officer of Nepal Bank Limited.
Prapti Sherchan, nominated for Spain, is an international development and partnerships specialist currently serving with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where she has led initiatives on gender inclusion and economic empowerment across Asia and Africa.
For Germany, the government has nominated Sharu Joshi, a labour migration and gender-policy expert who contributed to Nepal’s foreign employment legislation and has held senior positions with UN Women.
Dr Padmakshi Rana, proposed as ambassador to Oman, is a development and entrepreneurship leader and co-founder of Impact Hub Kathmandu. She holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge and has worked extensively on sustainable development and innovation.
The nominee for Malaysia, Chudamani Kharel, has a background in education, law and public administration and has served in leadership roles in Nepal’s sports administration sector.
Professor Dr Sangam Shrestha, nominated for South Korea, is an internationally recognised academic and climate-resilience expert currently affiliated with the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and is widely known for his work on water security and environmental policy.
The proposed ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr Manchala Jha, is a governance and public-policy expert who served as a commissioner of Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and currently teaches at Tribhuvan University.
For Saudi Arabia, the government has nominated Giri Bahadur Sunar, a social scientist and development professional with extensive experience in social inclusion, climate adaptation and development policy.
The Cabinet’s recommendations come as the government seeks to strengthen Nepal’s diplomatic engagement with major bilateral partners and key labour destination countries through appointments that draw on expertise from diplomacy, academia, security, development and public policy.
