Kathmandu, April 17

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari today appointed Mahendra Bahadur Pandey as Nepal’s ambassador to China. The appointment was made in accordance with Article 282 of the constitution, according to the president’s office.

On March 23, the Parliamentary Hearing Committee had unanimously confirmed the former minister of foreign affairs as Nepal’s ambassador to China.

No complaint was lodged against Pandey at the parliamentary panel. The Cabinet had decided to nominate Pandey as Nepal’s envoy to the northern neighbour.

Cabinet’s nomination followed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to recall Leela Mani Paudyal, who was serving as Nepal’s ambassador to China.

The Oli-led government had recommended Pandey as Nepal’s envoy to China in 2016 also, but he was among the 14 nominees whose nominations were withdrawn subsequently by the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government.

The Dahal-led government had decided to cancel 14 political nominees for ambassadorial positions at a time when the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee was holding the hearings of the nominees.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 18, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.