Govt recommends ambassadors for 11 countries

 Kathmandu, May 15

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has recommended ambassadors for 11 countries.

Of the 11 candidates, two are career diplomats and the rest are politicians, university professors and others.

Nirmal Raj Kafle and Jeevan Prakash Shrestha are recommended from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Austria and Egypt respectively.

Kafle is the Chief of Europe America Division at the ministry and Shrestha is the Director General of Department of Consular Services.

Likewise, Krishna Chandra Sharma is recommended for South Korea, Ramesh Chandra Poudel for Sri Lanka, Kul Prasad Nepal for Brazil, Sumnima Tuladhar for Australia, Yubaraj Karki for Bahrain, Sumitra Subedi for Denmark, Narayan Prasad Sangraula for Myamnar, Janga Bahadur Chauhan for Russia and Mehraj Musalman for Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry has recommended the names for parliamentary hearing. The list is sent to the Parliament Secretariat, said Sewa Lamsal, Spokesperson of the MoFA.

Meanwhile, the MoFA is expecting positive news from the Nepali diplomatic missions regarding the management of oxygen, vaccines and other essential health equipment.

Last week, the Ministry had directed the embassies, permanent missions and consul generals to arrange the essential health items to tackle the current crisis.

"There is a significant progress in terms of managing the necessary items. We are expecting good news from the United States of America and European nations," said Lamsal. The European Union has expressed its commitment with Nepali Ambassador to the EU Gahendra Rajbhandari to provide health items worth two million Euros.

However, the Eid holiday in the Gulf and other Muslim nations has delayed the process in those places.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali held a virtual meeting with heads of Nepali diplomatic missions based in select 13 capital cities abroad today.

Minister, while informing the Ambassadors about the most recent initiatives taken within the country to address the ongoing crisis of the Covid 19 pandemic, received updates from the respective Ambassadors on the efforts made for the mobilization of international cooperation of vaccines, oxygen related items, medicines and other health related supplies.

Minister instructed the Embassies to maximize efforts towards that direction and to explore further avenues of support at the bilateral and multilateral levels as well as through philanthropic organizations, private sector and Nepali diaspora.

He also advised the heads of missions to continue giving high priority to the protection and well-being of Nepali nationals abroad.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 May 2021.