The government has delayed recommending ambassadors to around a dozen and a half countries until at least next week, as ruling party leaders remain divided over the names to be proposed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had invited applications through an open call on May 28 to fill vacant ambassadorial positions in 13 countries, including India, China, the US, the UK, and Australia. The deadline for applications was June 5.

More than 4,400 applications were received. After removing duplicate and incomplete applications, officials selected around 2,700 candidates and narrowed the list to a few hundred.

A number of career diplomats currently serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also in line for appointments to vacant ambassadorial posts, according to officials. But disagreements within the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party have further delayed the process.

“Prime Minister Balendra Shah and RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane have yet to reach an agreement. Without a directive from Shah and Lamichhane, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal is unable to table the names in the Cabinet for recommendation,” a minister told the Post on condition of anonymity.

A senior Foreign Ministry official, however, said Khanal had already submitted a list for consideration by Shah and Lamichhane.

“Now Khanal and Kumar Byanjankar (Ben) [the chief adviser to the prime minister] are preparing the final list,” the official said.

The shortlist includes former security chiefs, former ambassadors, senior bureaucrats, and members of think tanks, among others.

The Supreme Court’s directive to ensure inclusive representation in ambassadorial appointments has made the selection process more challenging, according to an RSP leader.

“There are also recommendations to send former Nepali Army generals to major countries like India, China and the US. This has made the recommendation process more complicated,” the leader told the Post.

Power centres within Singha Durbar are also lobbying for the appointment of former senior Nepali Army generals to key diplomatic posts, arguing that their presence could help strengthen military-to-military relations with countries like India, China and the US.

Former Nepal Army generals Prabhuram Sharma, Rajendra Chhetri, Gaurav Sumsher Rana, Purna Silwal and Binoj Basnyat are among the names being discussed as possible envoys to India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, according to sources.

Some senior RSP leaders, however, have been pushing for greater civilian representation in ambassadorial appointments, further complicating the selection process, the RSP leader said.

The government has faced criticism over the delay, with some ambassadorial positions remaining vacant for nearly 10 months.

The Sushila Karki government on October 16 recalled Nepal’s ambassadors to China, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the US, the UK and Japan.

Without proceeding with recommendations for replacements in those 11 countries, the Balendra Shah government on April 7 recalled six more ambassadors from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Denmark and South Africa.

The final decision on the appointments will be taken after discussions among Prime Minister Shah, Lamichhane, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, Foreign Minister Khanal and other senior leaders of the ruling party, leaders told the Post

“However, our party is clear that the responsibility for the appointment solely rests with the government and the foreign minister,” said an RSP leader.

Shah and Lamichhane also met on Sunday and discussed several issues, including ambassadorial appointments.

Meanwhile, the government’s decision to close some diplomatic missions has also affected the appointment plan.

Through the annual budget speech, Finance Minister Wagle announced that the government would close the embassies in Denmark, Brazil and South Africa, as well as the Consulates General in San Francisco, United States; and Chengdu, China; along with the embassy branch in Visakhapatnam, India.

“The Foreign Ministry therefore had to redraw its appointment plan, hence the delay,” the Foreign Ministry official told the Post.

After failing to recommend new ambassadors, the government has already extended the terms of six ambassadors who were due to retire at the end of August.

A Cabinet meeting on July 22 decided to extend their terms until their successors are appointed, according to the Cabinet decision.

For decades, ambassadorial appointments in Nepal have been divided between political nominees and career diplomats. This time, the Foreign Ministry opened the process to competition by inviting applications for ambassadorial posts.