Kathmandu, December 29 Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal presenting his government’s accomplishments in 100 days on November 11 had announced that he would appoint envoys in vacant diplomatic missions without any delay. A month since his announcement, the government has not yet even begun homework for naming envoys to over a dozen vacant diplomatic outposts. Nepali embassies in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Denmark are without chiefs, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Earlier in April, the KP Sharma Oli-led government had recommended 14 envoys. However, CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal withdrew the names a day after he assumed office as the prime minister. Later, ambassadors to India and China were appointed, but 12 diplomatic other diplomatic outposts were still kept vacant. Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat today admitted that issue of sharing ambassadorial portfolios among coalition partners had delayed their nomination. “It’s not easy to take a decision when you have a coalition government,” he told The Himalayan Times. It is learnt that the ruling Nepali Congress, which leads the foreign ministry, has staked claim to at least seven ambassadorial positions. The NC was positive towards sharing the remaining five posts among CPN-Maoist Centre, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other fringe parties. The CPN-MC has also agreed to allot one ambassador each for RPP and fringe parties, but has equal stake with the NC on the remaining 10 ambassadorial posts. Nishchal Nath Pandey, director, Centre for South Asian Studies said, the government’s delay in naming envoys had cut diplomatic outposts’ contacts and contracted outreach in host countries. He expressed fear that the parties might compromise on quality while giving priority to their party cadres for ambassadorial positions. The MoFA has also made a similar assessment. Keeping diplomatic outposts headless for long is ‘damaging’ the country’s reputation, said a senior MoFA officer. It gives a negative message and a sense of souring bilateral ties.