Task force formed to review Nepal's foreign policy

KATHMANDU: The government has formed a High-Level Foreign Policy Review Task Force, which is asked to prepare a document of dynamic foreign policy suitable to the changed context of the world, and to provide concrete suggestions on it to the government.

The task force formed by the Cabinet under the coordination of Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat on April 11 comprises 16 experts from different sectors including finance, diplomacy, law and security.

The task force has been asked to provide concrete suggestions for the implementation of the dynamic foreign policy for the promotion of national interest by adhering to the basic norms and values of the Directive Principles of Nepal's Constitution.

Similarly, the task force would determine short-term, mid-term and long-term priorities to be adopted by the country for foreign policy, review of regional-level policy of different dimensions of foreign policy as bilateral, sub-regional, regional and multi-side diplomacy.

The Cabinet has given responsibility to the task force to give additional priority to development diplomacy and to recommend appropriate measures for institutional strengthening of missions in foreign countries.

The taskforce comprises Foreign Affairs Advisor of the Prime Minister and former Ambassador Rishiraj Adhikari, former Minister Bidhyadhar Mallik, former Ambassador and economist Shankar Prasad Sharma, International Trade expert Poshraj Pandey, Labour Diplomat expert Ganesh Gurung, former Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya, former Ambassador Shambhu Ram Simkhada, former Secretary and law expert Mohan Banjade and security expert Pawan Bahadur Pandey.

Similarly, security and foreign affairs expert Shreedhar Kumar Khatri, security expert Deepak Prakash Bhatta, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs Nepal Indra Kumari Adhikari, Representative of Nepal Council of World Affairs Rajendra Bahadur Shrestha and foreign affairs expert Nischal Nath Pandey are also in the taskforce.

Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi is the member secretary of the task force.

The task force has the four-month term.