KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led Council of Ministers met 18 times making at least 90 decisions to approve foreign trips for high-level government officials, including ministers, secretaries and representatives of constitutional bodies.

A compilation of the Cabinet decisions published by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on its official website shows that the coalition Cabinet made 406 decisions from August 4 to November 13 while nearly 25 per cent of the decisions were about approving foreign trips.

Since the formation of Dahal-led government on August 3, the Cabinet also took 59 decisions to either make appointments, promotions and transfers or assign officials for specific tasks while 30 decisions were taken to release financial support to different persons including former President Ram Baran Yadav and Nepali Congress leader Sujata Koirala in the name of offering help to pay their medical bills.

While the Cabinet approval is needed only for the foreign trips of ministers, secretaries and representatives of constitutional bodies and commissions, most of the senior government officials often choose to embark on foreign junkets after obtaining an approval from the respective ministries.

According to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at least 52 government officials left for China today for a 10-day visit. The team of government officials ranging from the position of section officer to under-secretary obtained the ministry-level permission to attend capacity building seminars in Sichuan Province of China.

“The team comprises 20 officials each from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture Development while 12 others from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.”

Health Ministry Spokesperson Bhogendra Dotel said that the team would attend different programmes in Sichuan while the trip was funded by the Chinese government.

A 20-member team of government officials led by the Office of the Vice-President Secretary Narayan Gopal Malego had also attended a seminar on ‘Building in Capability of Governance for Ministerial Officials of Nepal’ in Beijing a few weeks ago, according to the data.