Ex-ambassadors call for evaluating ambassadors’ performance

Published On: December 7, 2018 04:12 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Two days ahead of conducting hearing of proposed ambassadors to India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, the members of Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) consulted with the former Nepalese ambassadors to enquire the existing practices of picking ambassadors.

During the interaction, the former ambassadors called for picking ambassadors based on the criterion.

Former Nepalese Ambassador to Egypt PB Thakur told the parliamentarians that the government should evaluate the ambassadors’ performance on regular basis.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should have the authority to recall ambassadors whose performance is unsatisfactory,” Thakur said adding that the ambassadors’ evaluation should be done in the interval of one or two years.

He also opined that the ambassadorial nominees should have enough knowledge of political, social, economic and cultural systems and practices of the host country.

Former Ambassador to Australia Rudra Kumar Nepal viewed that the ambassadors should discharge their duties in line with the Vienna Convention.

The former ambassadors’ suggestion to the government comes at a time when a number of Nepalese ambassadors serving in foreign countries are criticized for their dismal performances or wrongdoings.

Sharing their experiences, former ambassadors Prahlad Prasai (Israel), Niranjan Basnyat (Malaysia) and Pushkar Man Singh Rajbhandari (Pakistan) stressed the need for making the ambassadorial appointments transparent.

On the occasion, parliamentarians also raised a number of questions with regards to the ambassadorial nominations.

The PHSC is scheduled to conduct the hearing of proposed ambassadors Nilambar Acharya (India), Anjan Shakya (Israel), Krishna Prasad Dhakal (UAE) and Udaya Raj Pandey (Malaysia) on Sunday. The committee has not received any complaints against the proposed ambassadors.

Ambassadorial appointments become controversial in Nepal as soon as they are announced by the Cabinet. The government often faces harsh public criticism due to lack of competence of most of the ambassadorial nominees.