In Coordination With Ambassadors Club, PHC Organises a Discussion Program With Former Ambassadors

Members of Parliamentary Hearing Committee of Nepal, Former Ambassadors, officials from parliament secretariat, and members of Ambassadors Club at the discussion program.

Kathmandu: In coordination with the Ambassadors Club, the Parliamentary Hearing Committee of Nepal organized a discussion program with Former Ambassadors on July 6.

PHC is the joint committee of the Federal Parliament with members from the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. The PHC’s role is to scrutinize and vet individuals nominated by the cabinet and the constitutional council for high-level public offices, including ambassadors.

The discussion meeting was chaired by the Chair of the PHC, Ishwari Devi Neupane, whereas former Ambassadors Madhu Raman Acharya (Former Foreign Secretary) and Yuba Nath Lamsal presented papers focusing on Parliamentary Hearing in Nepal and practices in the world.

During his presentation, Amb. Acharya suggested the parliamentary committee should come up with a mid-term evaluation to follow the work of the ambassadors. He also mentioned leaving a few politically important appointments, the government should not call back the ambassadors from foreign countries immediately after the change of the government. “After all the ambassadors were endorsed by the parliamentary hearing committee, where all the members of political parties were present,” he added, “So, we should not call back all the ambassadors from the foreign countries after a change of government in the country.”

Another paper presenter, Amb. Lamsal suggested that the parliamentary committee should form an expert team with the help of former ambassadors to facilitate the committee. “Otherwise, if the parliamentary hearing goes like this, it will be useless,” he said, “The mid-term consultation should be there to know the condition of the work of the ambassadors.”

The Chair of the PHC Neupane said the purpose of this discussion is to know the shortcomings and learn from them. She also added that the committee should learn from the mistake to improve in future. Moreover, former Finance Minister and member of the hearing committee Janardhan Sharma supported the statement of Chair Neupane. He also said that there are shortcomings and weaknesses, and we should learn from them and do better in future. Other members of the PHC Jiwan Pariyar, Ishwari Gharti, and Jag Prasad Sharma, commented that we need to learn from the past to improve in the future.

Former Ambassadors Madam Kumar Bhattari (former foreign secretary), Kali Prasad Pokhrel, Mohan Krishna Shrestha, Dinesh Bhattarai, Dr. Shambhu Ram Simkhada, Mahendra Prasad Singh Rajput, Madhuban Paudel, and Bhagirath Basnet also raised issues to improve the parliamentary hearing system to contribute to Nepal’s national interest through proper diplomacy. The respective ambassadors gave the examples of their appointment and requested parliamentarians to work on those key issues to improve the hearing. In addition, Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, member of Parliamentary Hearing Committee, was also present during the event.

In the discussion program, General Secretary of the Federal Parliament Secretariat Padma Prasad Pandeya, officials of PHC and officials from the Ambassadors Club also presented.

Furthermore, Amb. Pokhrel, who says he was wearing two hats, shared his experience of being an ambassador to Canada, while also highlighting the Ambassadors Club. He said, “The Ambassadors’ Club is Nepal’s first exclusive platform that brings together resident and non-resident Ambassadors, Heads of Mission, and Diplomats. It fosters global dialogue, cultural exchange, and international cooperation through high-level engagements. The Club promotes diplomatic collaboration, supports peace and development, and works to enhance Nepal’s global presence.”

Here are photos from the event: