Washout By Think Tanks, Foreign Policy Experts & Noted Columnists
By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
After the Gen Z revolt last September, the very first major blunder made by the interim government of Sushila Karki in the realm of external affairs was recalling the resident ambassadors, inter alia, from Washington, Beijing, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Moscow, Riyadh, Madrid, London and Tokyo.
No doubt, these recalled ambassadors were among the 17 political appointees nominated on July 29, 2024 by the government led by then-prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli of the CPM-UML, which was backed by the Nepali Congress.
This government may have been hated and disgraced by the overwhelming number of Nepalese, and toppled by the Gen Z movement.
The Karki government should have considered the country’s national interests first and proceeded incrementally.
It was not prudent to empty so many embassies at one go.
Unfortunately, there was not one word of caution or warning from the myriad foreign policy think tanks, experts and columnists [including this writer!].
This short-sighted policy was continued after the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) government of Balen Shah came to power.
On April 5, it had nothing better to do than recalling ambassadors serving in India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Denmark and South Africa, less than two weeks after taking office.
Both the Karki and Balen governments acted unwittingly to self-harm the nation and the people.
The Kathmandu Post columnist Rajesh Mishra has done a great service to the country by setting out in detail the ramifications – domestic and external – of recalling ambassadors prematurely and out of turn and not appointing new ones on time (Aug. 15).
Mishra quotes former Foreign Secretary and former Secretary General of SAARC, Arjun Bahadur Thapa: “Leaving an ambassadorial position empty for an extended duration implies one of two things in the receiving state: either that bilateral relations have deteriorated, or that Nepal simply does not assign priority to that country.”
The allocation of appointments for strategically important capitals including Washington, Beijing, New Delhi and London should be undertaken immediately from the pool of career diplomats.
Appointing distinguished personalities with demonstrated expertise in international affairs and national security like former Army chief Gen. Gaurab Shumsher should be an easy decision.
It is high time that Balan Shah’s kitchen cabinet and coterie of friends/advisers learn about the niceties of diplomatic culture and act accordingly – fast with the advice and consent of the foreign minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The writer can be reached at: shashimalla125@gmail.com
Login to add a comment