Kathmandu, December 9

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee today unanimously approved all four ambassadorial nominees.

The panel conducted confirmation hearing for Nilambar Acharya as ambassador to India, Uday Raj Pandey as ambassador to Malaysia, Krishna Dhakal as ambassador to United Arab Emirates and Anjan Shakya as ambassador to Israel. The government had nominated them as ambassadors on November 11.

Deputy Spokesperson of the Parliament Kesab Aryal said the PHC unanimously endorsed all four ambassadorial nominees after a six-hour long hearing.

The government will now have to write letters to India, Malaysia, UAE and Israel seeking agreemo for the confirmed ambassadorial nominees. After approval, the president shall appoint the nominees as ambassadors.

Ambassadorial nominee Nilambar Acharya said that he would try to strengthen relations between Nepal and India. He also said that he deemed himself the right candidate to do the job as he was a mature person with enough political experience.

“Nepal and India have long and historical relations. The relations are at a critical turning point and need to work hard to improve them,” he said, adding, “There is an open border between our two countries and we also need to discuss our bilateral issues openly.”

Acharya said Nepal’s relationship with China would not harm its relationship with India.

Panel member  Yogesh Bhattarai, who represents the ruling  Nepal Communist Party (NCP),  told  Acharya that if he was confirmed, he should be mindful of the fact  that the Nepal’s  ambassador to New Delhi was like  Nepal’s ambassador to Beijing and  Nepal’s  ambassador to Beijing was like  Nepal’s  ambassador to New Delhi. He added, “So, you (Acharya) need to strike a balance between India and China on certain issues,” he added.

Responding to queries of panel members, Acharya said if he was confirmed, he would try his best to solve all the existing problems between two countries.

Ambassadorial nominee Uday Raj Pandey said that he would try his best to help Nepali workers in Malaysia. “In Malaysia, 90 per cent of my work will be related to helping migrant labourers,” he said, adding, I would do my best to strengthen relations between Nepal and Malaysia.

Ambassadorial nominee to Israel Shakya said she would try to bring agriculture technology from Israel to Nepal. She said she would try her best to strengthen relations between Nepal and Israel.

Ambassadorial nominee Krishna Dhakal, who is also career diplomat, said that he would play his role in improving the relations between Nepal and UAE. PHC members, including panel Chair Laxman Lal Karna, had posed multiple questions to all four ambassadorial nominees about their background, interest, past work and their work plan.