By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
From a base of 4,400 applicants from all walks of life, the federal cabinet has finally chosen 13 for ambassadorial appointments.
After screening out duplicate and incomplete applications, officials narrowed the pool to around 2,700 candidates.
Now, five months later, the government last Friday recommended 13 of them as Nepal’s next ambassadors, including to India, China, the United States and the UK. – the most important countries for Nepal as far as our national interests are concerned.
However, it is not clear how many of the recommendations were from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself, and how many were from the ‘political appointments’ pool.
The government should inform the general public about this. Hopefully, it is close to the 60:40 ratio.
In addition, four women have been chosen out of the total 13. Optimal would have been six or seven women appointees.
Now comes the hard part.
First, it remains to be seen whether the pairings of the envoys with the destination embassies have been ideal.
The appointment of former Army Chief, Gen. Gaurav SJB Rana seems to have hit the nail on the head. From his background and education, he is well-equipped for the posting.
All the appointees must now undergo a rigorous amount of preparation and re-education from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the appropriate departments of the universities.
This is a very serious matter and not to be taken lightly.
Then there is the country-specific detailed briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant institutions.
There is undoubtedly the glamour of being the ambassador of such a strategically important country between the two great civilizations of Asia and with its own rich cultural traditions.
But it also entails very hard work promoting Nepal as a safe and enduring tourist destination and also to underline its rights in this terrible age of climate change.
It would, of course help matters very much if the envoys-in-waiting had the necessary language proficiency.
The Ministry itself must take the lead by sending its officials for language and further training. The envoys in such countries like India, the U.S. and the UK should encourage their junior officers for taking academic courses at local universities and institutions.
The writer can be reached at: shashimalla125@gmail.com
Login to add a comment