The government has decided to extend the terms of ambassadors to six countries are preparing to return home after completing their tenures, “until further arrangements are made.”
Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already begun the process of appointing new ambassadors through open competition, the appointments will take some more time. The government therefore decided to extend the terms of the incumbent ambassadors to ensure that the posts in the six countries do not remain vacant in the interim.
According to a decision taken by the Cabinet at its previous meeting, the terms of the incumbent ambassadors to Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brazil, Myanmar, Egypt, and Austria have been extended until further decision is made, a source said.
The current ambassadors are Ghanashyam Bhandari in Bangladesh, Tirtha Raj Wagle in Bahrain, Nirmal Raj Kafle in Brazil, Harish Chandra Ghimire in Myanmar, Sushil Lamsal in Egypt, and Bharat Regmi, Nepal’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.
Their four-year terms are set to expire at the end of August. Their tenures were extended as they were preparing to return home upon completion of their terms.
“Their terms have not been permanently extended for a long period. Since it will take some time to complete the process of appointing new ambassadors, a short-term arrangement has been made to continue them during that period,” a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Setopati.
The official said that the arrangement would remain in place until the Cabinet recommends the names of new ambassadors, parliamentary hearings are completed, and agrément is received from the respective countries.
According to the official, the appointment process for new ambassadors has reached its final stage. The Foreign Ministry is preparing to shortlist names and submit them to the Cabinet by next week.
Brazil, where the embassy closure has already been announced in the budget, is also among the countries where the ambassador's term has been extended.
The embassies in Denmark, Brazil, and South Africa have been dissolved through the budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. Additionally, the consulates general in Chengdu, China, and San Francisco, United States, as well as the branch office of the Nepali Embassy in Visakhapatnam, India, have also been dissolved.
Asked why the ambassador’s tenure in Brazil was also extended despite the decision to close the embassy there, a Foreign Ministry official said that the decision was made because "it will also take some time to complete the process of closing the embassy."
After the interim government led by Sushila Karki and the current government led by Balen Shah recalled ambassadors appointed by the previous KP Sharma Oli government, ambassadorial posts are currently vacant at diplomatic missions in 17 countries.
After the formation of the government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah, ambassadors to India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Denmark, and South Africa were recalled. Earlier, the Sushila Karki-led interim government had recalled 11 ambassadors to China, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan on October 16 last year.
The Foreign Ministry has invited applications for the appointment of ambassadors to all these countries for the first time through an open competitive model.
After an initial screening of applicants by the Foreign Ministry, the names will be recommended through a Cabinet decision. The nominees will then undergo hearings before the Federal Parliament’s Parliamentary Hearing Committee and will be appointed only after receiving agrément from the respective countries.
The Foreign Ministry has published not only the minimum criteria, but also additional qualifications, for ambassadorial appointments.
Nepal currently appoints ambassadors to 34 countries and consuls general to 10 countries. Ambassadorial posts in 17 of these countries are currently vacant, while the terms of ambassadors to countries including Brazil, Myanmar, Oman, Austria, Bangladesh, and Egypt are set to expire at the end of August.
Under the Ambassador Appointment Procedure introduced in 2018, at least 50 percent of ambassadors must be selected from among officials of the Foreign Ministry. Such diplomats are referred to as career diplomats. The remaining 50 percent of ambassadorial posts have traditionally been filled through political appointments.
