Kathmandu, September 18
The government has recommended 13 individuals for appointment as Nepal’s ambassadors to different countries, including India, China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
A Cabinet meeting held on Friday recommended the names of individuals with backgrounds in diplomacy, academia, security, development, business, public policy and other fields.
The recommended names will now be sent to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Following parliamentary hearings, the government will seek agrément from the respective countries. Once agrément is received, the President will formally appoint the nominees as ambassadors.
Here is a look at the backgrounds of the 13 proposed ambassadors.
1. Dr Nischal Nath Pandey — India
Dr Nischal Nath Pandey is an academic and foreign policy expert who currently serves as director of the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS).
He previously served as executive director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2006 and as an adviser to the National Planning Commission on tourism and civil aviation from 1996 to 1997.
Pandey also served as an expert with Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2016 and as a member of a high-level foreign policy task force formed by the government in 2017.
He holds a PhD in political science and an LLB from Tribhuvan University. He has also served as an honorary associate professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru and as a non-resident senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.
Pandey has completed visiting fellowships at Germany’s SWP in Berlin and the University of Hull in the UK. He has also served on the board of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in Colombo.
He has authored three books published by SAGE and Manohar Publishers, along with numerous edited works on Nepal’s foreign policy and regional cooperation. In 2015, he completed the South Asia Leadership Executive Program at Harvard Kennedy School.
2. Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma — China
Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma is a Nepal-China affairs expert, sinologist and economist with more than two decades of experience in academia, institutional governance and bilateral policy cooperation.
He holds a PhD in economics from Fudan University, where his research focused on foreign direct investment, trade and tourism financing.
Sharma is currently chairman of the Fudan University Alumni Association Nepal, the Nepal-China Friendship Forum and the Council of Sinologists-Nepal. He also serves as a visiting scholar at Kathmandu University School of Management, where he developed and teaches a course on doing business in China.
He is managing director of Adventure Outdoor Excursion and has been involved in promoting Himalayan and cross-border tourism. He also serves as an independent board director at Apex Funds and several hydropower and energy companies.
For his contribution to Nepal-China relations, Sharma received the Nepal Bhushan from the President of Nepal in 2016 and the Silk Road Friendship Award in 2021.
3. Chiran Jung Thapa — United States
Chiran Jung Thapa is a national security and international affairs expert with more than two decades of experience in security policy, crisis management and diplomacy.
He holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, which he completed on a full academic scholarship, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from SUNY Geneseo.
Since 2017, Thapa has served as Oxfam’s regional security adviser for Asia, where he has led risk and crisis management work across 15 countries.
Previously, he worked as regional security and justice adviser for Asia at Saferworld from 2013 to 2016 and as an adviser on security sector and civil-military relations at The Asia Foundation from 2010 to 2013.
During his career, he has advised Nepal’s Ministry of Defence, National Security Council, Nepal Army and Nepal Police. He also developed the Nepal Army’s first civil-military relations course.
Earlier, he worked with the permanent missions of Singapore and Nepal to the United Nations in New York.
Thapa completed Harvard Kennedy School’s Leadership in Homeland Security programme and has worked in Nepal, the United States, the United Kingdom and several countries in South and Southeast Asia.
4. Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana — United Kingdom
Former Chief of Army Staff Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana has more than four decades of experience in the Nepal Army and served as chief of army staff from 2012 to 2015.
During his tenure, he oversaw the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. He also led the army during Nepal’s transition to a federal democratic republic.
Rana was involved in implementing the army’s 10-year long-term plan and Military Doctrine 2013.
Following the 2015 earthquake, he led the Nepal Army’s disaster response operation, Operation Sankat Mochan, and coordinated the involvement of 18 foreign military teams in relief efforts.
He previously served as chief of staff, director general of the Directorate General of Military Operations and commander of Nepal’s UNIFIL battalion in southern Lebanon.
Rana holds a master’s degree in defence and strategic studies from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan and a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Tribhuvan University. He is also a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and Pakistan’s National Defence University.
5. Jigyan Kumar Thapa — Japan
Jigyan Kumar Thapa has more than two decades of experience working to strengthen Nepal-Japan relations.
He holds a master’s degree in international relations and law from Yokohama National University and a bachelor’s degree in international cooperation from Shumei University.
Since 2009, he has worked at the Kanagawa International Foundation as an expert on international cooperation, public policy and multicultural affairs.
Since 2005, he has also coordinated high-level Nepal-Japan bilateral programmes, facilitating visits and exchanges involving presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers of both countries.
Thapa organised the Nepal-Japan Business Dialogue during the Nepali president’s official visit to Japan in 2026.
He has worked closely with JICA, UNICEF and Japanese local governments on international cooperation and migration governance initiatives. He has also served as an adviser to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nepal, former general secretary of the Non-Resident Nepali Association Japan and former president of the Nepali Students Association in Japan.
He has taught as an associate professor at several Japanese universities and is proficient in Japanese, having passed JLPT Level 1.
6. Suresh Kumar Karn — Israel
Suresh Kumar Karn is a senior professional with more than 30 years of experience in information technology, banking and economic policy.
While serving as chief information and marketing officer at Kumari Bank from 2003 to 2015, he developed and launched Kumari Mobile Cash, described as Nepal’s first mobile wallet.
He later served as chief operating officer of Nepal Bank from 2015 to 2019, where he led the bank’s transition to an integrated core banking system.
Since 2024, Karn has chaired Kumo Labs, a Japanese technology investment established under Nepal’s Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act.
He has also served two consecutive terms as president of the Computer Association of Nepal Federation and was a member of Nepal’s IT Council and the High-Level Commission for Information Technology.
Karn contributed to drafting Nepal’s first national IT policy in 2000. He holds an MBA in international trade, investment and infrastructure economics from Beijing Normal University’s Belt and Road School.
He began his career as an inspector in the Nepal Police and has also received the National ICT Excellence Award.
7. Prapti Sherchan — Spain
Prapti Sherchan is an international development and partnership professional with 15 years of experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.
She has worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, since 2015 and currently serves as an operations officer for gender solutions and impact.
She has led IFC India’s gender country programme and previously served as the Asia lead for IFC’s women’s insurance programme, helping expand inclusive finance partnerships across Asia and Africa.
The programme has covered more than 1.3 million women and contributed to the creation of 9,500 jobs, according to the profile provided by the government.
Sherchan has also led multi-country research initiatives involving Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and a 10-country regional study with the ASEAN Insurance Council.
She holds an MBA in sustainable international development from Brandeis University’s Heller School and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the National University of Singapore.
She has represented IFC at high-level international forums, including the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. She is also co-chair of the US board of Women Lead Nepal and co-founder of the IFC Millennial+ Resource Group.
8. Saru Joshi — Germany
Saru Joshi is a senior policy expert with more than 25 years of experience in foreign employment governance, gender equality and international cooperation.
She has contributed to the development of Nepal’s migration framework, including the Foreign Employment Act 2007, Foreign Employment Rules 2008 and Foreign Employment Policy 2012.
Joshi worked at UN Women for a decade, serving as regional programme manager for South Asia and head of labour diplomacy from 2002 to 2012.
She later served as a programme specialist and head of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Unit at UN Women Nepal, followed by a role as strategic partnership specialist.
Since 2018, she has worked as an independent senior policy and international relations consultant. Her work has included advising UN Women, the World Bank and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
She has represented Nepal at international forums including COP28.
Since 2024, Joshi has served on the executive board of the Nepal Policy Institute and has been involved in advocacy for voting rights for Nepali migrant workers.
She holds master’s degrees in women and development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague and political science from Tribhuvan University. She is also the author of the book Euta Sinko Bhachera Herdā and has published more than 60 articles on foreign employment and gender issues.
9. Dr Padmakshi Rana — Oman
Dr Padmakshi Rana is a development and entrepreneurship professional with more than 15 years of experience in sustainable development, inclusive innovation and international cooperation across Nepal, Asia and Europe.
Since 2022, she has served as executive director and co-founder of Impact Hub Kathmandu, representing Nepal within the Impact Hub Global Association and its Asia-Pacific regional network.
She has developed partnerships with organisations including UK Aid/FCDO, the European Union, UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCAP, the World Bank and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Rana holds a PhD in corporate social responsibility in food production from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing. She also holds an MPhil in environment, society and development from Cambridge and an MBA from Webster University Thailand.
Before joining Impact Hub, she held research and teaching positions at Cambridge and co-founded a sustainability innovation consultancy in Singapore.
Her research has focused on sustainable business models in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region and post-disaster tourism recovery.
10. Chudamani Kharel — Malaysia
Chudamani Kharel has an academic background in humanities, English, political science and law and has worked in education and public administration.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, a master’s degree in political science and an LLB from Tribhuvan University.
Kharel is currently general secretary of the Nepal Yoga Sports Association. He previously served as general secretary of the Nepal Skating and Skateboarding Association and as member-secretary of the 7th National Games subcommittee under the National Sports Council.
His academic career includes several years as a lecturer in English at Cosmos College and John Bauer College.
11. Prof Dr Sangam Shrestha — South Korea
Prof Dr Sangam Shrestha is an academic and global policy expert with more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, climate resilience and water-security diplomacy.
He is currently a professor at the School of Engineering and Technology at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and a former dean of the school. He is also founding co-director of the Global Water and Sanitation Center.
Shrestha has worked with the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Gates Foundation, UN agencies, European Union, FAO and UNESCO on international grants and cooperation.
He has worked with governments and diplomatic missions in more than 30 countries.
He holds a PhD in integrated river basin management from Yamanashi University in Japan and has published more than 200 research papers.
He has also served as a visiting professor at Beijing Normal University and the National University of Laos and has supervised more than 20 PhD students and over 150 postgraduate students across Asia.
12. Dr Manchala Jha — Sri Lanka
Dr Manchala Jha is a governance and public policy expert who served as a commissioner at Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 2015 to 2019.
During her tenure, she represented the commission at international transitional justice forums and presented Nepal’s experience with truth, justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
She is an associate professor at Tribhuvan University and taught in its master’s programme on governance and corruption control from 2021 to 2024.
Jha holds a PhD in Hindi literature from B.R. Ambedkar University in India and master’s degrees in political science, with a specialisation in foreign policy and diplomacy, and Hindi literature from Tribhuvan University.
She has also served as an invited expert on Nepal’s national implementation and monitoring committee for the United Nations Istanbul Programme of Action.
Jha has provided training to government and civil society stakeholders on women, peace and security under UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820.
She has worked as an election observer and media analyst on Nepali politics and governance and is proficient in Nepali, Hindi, English and Maithili.
13. Giribahadur Sunar — Saudi Arabia
Giribahadur Sunar is a sociologist and development professional with more than 25 years of experience in international development, policy advice and multi-stakeholder governance.
His areas of expertise include social safeguards, gender equality and social inclusion, community-based climate adaptation and grievance redress mechanisms.
He has applied this expertise to major infrastructure and water-sector programmes supported by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Sunar is pursuing a PhD in sociology at Tribhuvan University and completed an MPhil in 2019.
He is the author of Empowering Women Through Self-Defense, published by Scholars Press in Germany, and has written more than 100 policy articles for Nepali newspapers including The Himalayan Times, The Annapurna Express and Republica.
He also serves as secretary of Social, Environment and Rural Development Nepal (SERD-Nepal) and has appeared as a public diplomacy commentator on national television.
