The response in both the cases was overwhelming.

For the first time in Nepal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in mid-May called open competitions for ambassadorial appointments. In response, around 3,000 people have applied for 13 ambassadorial and permanent representative posts.

Separately, on May 15, the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA), under the aegis of the foreign ministry, also called for MoFA Nepal Summer Internship–2026, an eight-week voluntary policy research internship for Nepali graduates and professionals interested in contributing to Nepal’s foreign policy agenda.

Ambassadorial postings are for four years to represent Nepal in a foreign country while the eight-week long internship was opened for 10 posts. According to the foreign ministry, as many as 1,280 graduates from around the world have applied for internships.

The programme will run from mid-June to mid-August and will focus on key research themes including strategic affairs and public international law, development and finance, emerging technologies, clean energy, and the Nepali Diaspora. In the history of IFA, this is the first time that the organisation has called for research fellows.

The foreign ministry has started screening the applications, reviewing the resume of applicants and short-listing them for ambassador roles. For interns, initial screening based on the application and research proposal are submitted and under secretaries at the foreign ministry are involved in selecting the research fellows for IFA, the Nepal government’s only premier foreign policy institute. Rojina Tamrakar, executive director at the IFA, is leading the team for short-listing and interviewing candidates, said a foreign ministry official.

Earlier the IFA hired a minimum number of interns and research fellows pursuing higher studies in foreign universities, said Indra Adhikari, former deputy executive director of the IFA. This kind of internship helps students pursue a career in international relations and diplomacy.

“Our universities have now started encouraging students for internships. Those who want to hone their experience and knowledge, such an opportunity is excellent,” said Adhikari. “Third, it helps individuals to sharpen their knowledge and understanding essential for good jobs in the future.”

With a number of students pursuing international relations and related subjects like political science, economics, international law increasing, this kind of opportunity offered by government-led organisations will definitely make a difference, said Adhikari.

Another team at the foreign ministry is busy screening the candidates and short-listing them. The overwhelming interest for the vacancies has also generated comments, criticism and support. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said the government wants to appoint ambassadors following the democratic process.

“We are quite aware of the malpractices seen in ambassadorial appointments, which totally discredited the entire section process in the past,” the minister said. “We want to set a democratic process so that more qualified and eligible people would come forward to apply.”

It was presumed that qualified, politically neutral and eligible people did not come forward due to high politicisation of the ambassadorial appointment process, Khanal said.

It is not immediately known who have applied for the positions, but officials said that several sitting bureaucrats, retired security officials and bureaucrats, university and college teachers, journalists, people serving in different international organisations and other professionals who meet the criteria have applied.

The government made the open call amid an ongoing debate over whether ambassadorial appointments should be made through an open competition or be reserved for experts and experienced individuals. Traditionally, ambassadorial appointments have been split evenly between political nominees and career diplomats from the Foreign Service.

Earlier there was no merit in selecting the ambassadors, said Adhikari, people used to get the ambassadorial posting due to the proximity to one certain party and leader.

“The state did not offer any opportunity in the past, which is why such a large number of applicants have shown interest. Since this is new in our case, it would be better if the government also formed a search committee and appointed ambassadors,” she said. “Openly announcing vacancies looks cheap in our case.”

At present, 17 diplomatic missions are without ambassadors, and by the end of August, another seven will become headless, bringing the total number of envoy vacancies to 24.

The open competition is for postings in India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Oman and Saudi Arabia, among others, as well as in several international organisations.

Sanjeev Humagain, PhD programme faculty member for Political Science and International Relations of the Tribhuvan University, points to the social authority perspective of the jobs announcement.

"All share equal authority as well as respect in a normal society. But in Nepal, people linked to politics, mostly political appointees, enjoyed special privileges. In fact, they are treated as a different class,” said Humagain. “It has established different social relations and values. Excessive use of social media has in fact institutionalised this culture."