Nepal UK
Nepal's choice of a former Chief of the Army Staff as its next ambassador to the United Kingdom has appeared before the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Few details of what he told lawmakers have been published, and the committee's decision has not yet been confirmed.
Nepal's Parliamentary Hearing Committee on Monday 12 October held the confirmation hearing for General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (retd), the government's nominee as ambassador to the United Kingdom. His was one of four ambassadorial hearings held that day. For Nepalese communities in Britain, the London embassy is the main point of contact on consular services, documentation and diplomatic engagement with the UK Government.
The cabinet recommended 13 ambassadors on 18 September. The UK nominee, Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, led the Nepali Army from 2012 to 2015 after more than four decades of service. He oversaw the integration of former Maoist combatants into the army, led Operation Sankat Mochan after the 2015 earthquake, commanded Nepal's UNIFIL peacekeeping battalion in South Lebanon, and trained at Sandhurst. He currently chairs Conservation Alliance Nepal.
The committee, chaired by Bodh Narayan Shrestha, first heard complaints filed against the nominees. Each nominee then presented a work plan and answered lawmakers' questions. The nominees' priorities were described collectively: strengthening diplomatic ties, expanding bilateral cooperation, making bilateral mechanisms more effective, and improving trade and connectivity.
NepalUK found no published account of Mr Rana's own remarks, the questions he faced, or whether any complaint concerned him. Readers should not infer positions or priorities beyond this.
The committee must approve the recommendations before the president can appoint the ambassadors, and each appointment also needs agrément, the formal consent of the host government. The committee's final decision on the UK nominee has not been confirmed in the material reviewed by NepalUK.
