Kathmandu, April 6: Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has initiated preparatory work to restructure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has started efforts to bring departments and divisions from other ministries, whose functions overlap with foreign affairs, under the Foreign Ministry’s umbrella.
Minister Khanal has tasked Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai to study this matter. Sources say the restructuring aligns with the government’s policy to reduce the number of ministries from 25 to 17.
The Foreign Ministry is primarily preparing to absorb three agencies: the Department of Foreign Employment under the Ministry of Labour, aspects of foreign trade under the Ministry of Commerce, and the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance. According to ministry sources, these agencies have direct relevance to foreign affairs, and bringing them under a single roof is the ongoing goal.
Minister Khanal and senior officials have concluded that the problems the ministry currently faces will be difficult to resolve unless these three agencies are transferred under foreign affairs. They note that integrating them would clarify responsibilities and improve operational efficiency.
Currently, the Department of Foreign Employment falls under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. However, most tasks—such as worker certification, welfare, safety, rescue, and repatriation of deceased workers—are already handled by the Foreign Ministry and its overseas missions. To eliminate this overlap, discussions have begun to bring the department under the Foreign Ministry, including consideration of necessary legal provisions.
Similarly, certain aspects of foreign trade linked to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies are connected to foreign affairs. While commercial attachés and ambassadors are appointed through the Foreign Ministry, their trade promotion work remains linked to the Commerce Ministry. The Foreign Ministry has initiated efforts to better streamline this relationship.
Discussions are also underway to bring the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Foreign Ministry. Although the division is involved in foreign aid negotiations and agreements, the coordination role has traditionally been managed by the Foreign Ministry. The proposal aims to operate foreign aid through a one-door system under the Foreign Ministry.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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