Diplomats And Dilemma

Minister for External Affairs Ms. Sahana Pradhan conferred with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Tuesday to sort out issues concerning the appointment of envoys to the different countries where Nepal has its resident missions. Minister of External Affairs Ms. Pradhan apprised the prime minister of the ambassadorial posts sought by the Maoists in such countries as South Korea, France, the United Kingdom and Denmark. The Prime Minister, as reported, does not seem to be persuaded by the demands made by the Maoists. The differences over the sharing of diplomatic appointments to the major countries among the political parties have created hurdles in finalising the process for sending envoys to the different countries where Nepal has vital stakes in serving the nation's larger economic and strategic interests. Needless to mention, the resident missions in countries like India, USA and UK that are consistently backing Nepal in its transformative process into a democratic and prosperous country have been lying vacant for almost a year and a half.

This has several diplomatic implications with negative tones. Since the case of Nepal, especially in the context of its democratic political transformation, needs to be ably explained and presented in the international community. The absence of ambassadors to represent the country in meaningful terms is a case of diplomatic deficit. This can be attributed to the poor performance of the government itself to gather consensus on such a vital issue and arrive at a timely conclusion. It is to be recalled that the list of likely candidates had been drawn up some moths ago, but it was due to the objections raised by the Maoists that the process got stuck. The Interim Constitution requires the nominees for ambassadorial assignments to face parliamentary scrutiny and win legislative approval before being confirmed for the posts. This is a very important provision incorporated in the basic law of the land as it can contribute to selecting able and qualified persons for diplomatic assignments. As stressed by the minister of the external affairs, it is high time the political parties arrived at a consensus to appoint envoys to the different countries to head the diplomatic missions soon. This, however, cannot be done once the Election Commission issues a code of ethics for the polls to the constituent assembly to be adhered to by the government itself.

Source: The Rising Nepal, July 26, 2007