The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and International Relations on Wednesday decided to seek syllabus details of the proposed training to be held at the Indian Institute of Foreign Service in May, 2011 and to direct MoFA not send the officers to India if such training could be imparted in Nepal.[break]
The Committee took the decision after holding an interaction with Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai on Wednesday.
While Maoist lawmakers on the Committee argued that the newly-appointed officers should not be sent to India as the training there could ´brainwash´ them to work in India´s interests, lawmakers belonging to Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML maintained that the training as such would not make any difference.
The Maoist lawmakers argued that in the changed political context in Nepal such a decision should not be taken even if there are precedents. They added that it was a wrong decision to send fresh recruits to India as the track record of Indian diplomats in Nepal has never been free from controversy.
Maoist lawmaker Jog Bahadur Mahara argued that there is no need to send Nepali diplomats to India for general training. “What will they learn from India?” he asked. “You all have seen the activities of [Rakesh] Sood.”
He threatened to write a note of dissent even if the Committee decided to endorse MoFA´s decision.
Foreign Secretary Bhattarai informed the meeting that the 28 newly-appointed officers were being sent to India for basic diplomacy training and the Indian government was providing the training free of cost at MoFA´s request. He said MoFA was also arranging other professional training for the officers in countries like China, Malaysia and Japan.
Responding to queries of lawmakers why such a large number of officers were being sent to India for training, Secretary Bhattarai said they initially planned to send the 28 officers in two batches. The plan was changed as India decided to train all the officers in a single course, citing financial reasons.
Committee Chairman Padam Lal Bishwokarma said they have decided to hold a meeting with stakeholders and experts on whether experts in Nepal could impart similar training at home. “If that is possible we will direct MoFA not to send the officers to India,” he told Republica.
Related story
First private sector cargo train from India arrives in Birgunj
