The government has recommended ambassadors for 11 countries, positions that have been lying vacant for a long time in some cases while others became vacant only recently or will be vacant soon.

According to the Cabinet sources, Nirmal Raj Kafle and Jeevan Prakash Shrestha, joint secretaries at the Foreign Ministry, have been recommended as envoys for Austria and Egypt respectively.

Former head of the Central Department of English of Tribhuvan University Krishna Chandra Sharma has been recommended for South Korea, a position that has been vacant for more than two years.

Sumnima Tuladhar, a noted child rights activist, has been recommended for Australia. She is the daughter of well-known human rights activist late Padma Ratna Tuladhar.

The government had recently recalled Mahesh Dahal after he served briefly in Australia as he was close to Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chair of Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center).

Yubraj Karki, former minister for general administration and who has served in the foreign affairs department of the ruling party, has been recommended for Bahrain. Padam Sundas who is serving there after being appointed from the Maoist Center quota has almost completed his term.

Former mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City Ramesh Chandra Poudel has been recommended for Sri Lanka.

Similarly, Narayan Prasad Sangraula has been recommended for Myanmar, Kul Prasad Nepal for Brazil, Sumitra Subedi for Denmark, Meraj Musalman for Saudi Arabia and Janga Bahadur Chauhan for Russia.

Sangraula is a professor of History and Nepal is a former lawmaker of Palpa district from the ruling party. Subedi is a primary school teacher in Jhapa district and a relative of Rajan Bhattarai, foreign relations advisor to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, according to Cabinet sources. Musalman is from Kapilvastu district and has been long associated with UML’s Muslim wing of the party. Chauhan is a professor of English at Kathmandu University. Chauhan, who hails from Arghakhanchi district was educated in Russia, according to Bishnu Rijal, member of the UML’s department of foreign relations.

Other than two ambassadors from the foreign service, the other nine have been recommended under the political quota. The serving ambassadors are split equally between the foreign service and political quotas.

These recommendations were made earlier this week, a minister told the Post on condition of anonymity. The names will now be sent to the Parliament Secretariat for parliamentary hearing and then the government will announce the appointments after receiving agreemos from the receiving countries.