After three-and-a-half long years, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi might finally be receiving an ambassador. Following a political deal between the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML, the next Cabinet meeting will likely appoint ambassadors to crucial postings that have been vacant for years. Currently, 10 of Nepal’s diplomatic outposts lack envoys—India, the US, the UK, Qatar, Brazil, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Germany, Bahrain, and Oman. The NC is supposed to have its appointees in four embassies, including to New Delhi; the UML will appoint three, including one to Washington. The remaining three postings will be divided between the UCPN (Maoist) and other parties. Of the 16 postings that were vacant, the Foreign Ministry, under its appointment quota, recently filled vacancies in France, Geneva, Thailand, Canada, South Africa, and Kuwait.

This is good news for Nepal’s beleaguered foreign relations sector. Without ambassadors to sensitive countries like India, the US, and the UK, Nepal has largely been unable to lobby for its interests, especially as the country relies so much on foreign aid from these nations. India is an especially egregious vacancy, given the millions of Nepalis that travel to and reside in India, facilitated by the open border. It is also no secret that India wields considerable influence on happenings in Nepal. Similarly, Qatar too is a crucial posting that has gone neglected for far too long. Media reports consistently claim that Nepali migrant workers are dying at a rate of almost one every day while working on infrastructure projects in the Gulf country. But ever since Maya Kumari Sharma was recalled in September 2013 for making grossly inappropriate comments about her host country, the Nepali embassy in Qatar has remained headless.

While the appointment of the envoys is a good start, it very remains to be seen how politically-appointed ambassadors will perform as diplomats. When Maya Kumari Sharma, a political appointee from the UCPN (Maoist), was recalled, many argued that she lacked the requisite skills for an ambassador, including knowledge and sensitivity to diplomatic protocol. Therefore, when selecting candidates, political parties will have to treat these appointments with the utmost sensitivity: how these diplomats carry themselves in the country they are assigned to has a huge bearing on how Nepal is perceived in the host country. International exposure, academic background, work experience, and fluency in foreign languages must all be taken into consideration. Diplomatic appointments cannot simply be treated as an avenue to dole out political patronage. This is especially true given that Nepalis now reside and work in all corners of the globe, from the Middle East to East Asia. Our envoys will thus need to work hard to assure dignity and safety of labour for Nepali migrants toiling in foreign lands. Remittance—and not foreign aid—after all is the backbone of our economy. While safeguarding the rights of Nepalis is one aspect, pushing for Nepal’s interests is another. Nepal lacks any hard power but its strength could lie in the pursuit of soft power, which will require savvy diplomats who are adept at lobbying for Nepal’s interests abroad.