The Cabinet has recommended individuals with expertise, research backgrounds, and executive leadership experience across diverse sectors as ambassadors to 13 countries, including India, China, and the United States.
The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah. Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal noted that high-caliber candidates from various specialized domains have been nominated for these diplomatic posts.
The government will forward the list of nominees to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Following approval, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will request the agrément from the respective host nations. Upon receiving confirmation, the President will formally appoint them to their diplomatic assignments.
List of Proposed Ambassadors & Bios
- Dr. Nischal Nath Pandey — India
Dr. Nischal Nath Pandey is a premier foreign-policy scholar and 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 (1998–2006) and as an advisor to the National Planning Commission on tourism and civil aviation (1996–97). He contributed as an expert to Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2016) and served on the High-Level Foreign Policy Task Force (2017). He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and an LL.B. from Tribhuvan University. He is an Honorary Adjunct Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bengaluru) and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Dr. Pandey has held visiting fellowships at SWP Berlin and the University of Hull (UK), served on the board of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (Colombo), and completed the South Asia Leader Executive Program at Harvard Kennedy School (2015).
- Dr. Kalyan Raj Sharma — China
Dr. Kalyan Raj Sharma is a specialist in Nepal–China relations, Sinologist, and economist with over two decades of experience in academia, governance, and bilateral policy engagement. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Fudan University, focusing on FDI, trade, and tourism financing. He chairs the Fudan University Alumni Association of Nepal, the Nepal–China Friendship Forum, and the Council of Sinologists-Nepal. He is a Visiting Scholar at Kathmandu University School of Management, where he designed and teaches “Doing Business in China.” Additionally, he serves as Managing Director of Adventure Outdoor Excursion Pvt. Ltd. and sits on the boards of Apex Funds Limited and several energy firms. A recipient of the Nepal Bhusan (2016) and the Silk Road Friendship Award (2021), he is a frequent commentator on Belt and Road cooperation and economic diplomacy.
- Chiran Jung Thapa — USA
Chiran Jung Thapa is a national-security and international-affairs specialist with two decades of experience in security policy, crisis management, and diplomacy. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA) and a B.A. in International Relations from SUNY Geneseo. Since 2017, he has served as Regional Security Adviser for Asia at Oxfam, managing risk and crisis response across 15 countries. He previously served as Regional Security and Justice Adviser for Asia at Saferworld (2013–2016) and Security Sector Adviser at The Asia Foundation (2010–2013), advising the Ministry of Defence, National Security Council, Nepal Army, and Nepal Police. He completed Harvard Kennedy School’s Leadership in Homeland Security program, has twice received the Chief of Army Staff Commendation, and was a keynote speaker at the Indian Army’s inaugural Chanakya Defence Dialogue in 2023.
- General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (Retd) — UK
General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (Retd) served as Chief of Army Staff of the Nepali Army from 2012 to 2015. Over a four-decade military career, he directed the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepali Army under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, oversaw the implementation of the Army’s Ten-Year Perspective Plan and Military Doctrine 2013, and led Operation Sankat Mochan following the 2015 earthquake. His command positions include Chief of General Staff, Director General of Military Operations, and commander of Nepal’s UNIFIL peacekeeping battalion in South Lebanon. He holds an M.Sc. in Defense and Strategic Studies from Quaid-i-Azam University and a B.A. from Tribhuvan University, and is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (UK), US Army Command and General Staff College (Fort Leavenworth), and Pakistan’s National Defense University. He currently chairs Conservation Alliance Nepal.
- Jigyan Kumar Thapa — Japan
Jigyan Kumar Thapa has spent over twenty years strengthening Nepal–Japan relations. He holds an M.A. in International Relations and Law from Yokohama National University and a B.A. in International Cooperation from Shumei University.Since 2009, he has served as a Public Policy and Multicultural Affairs Specialist at the Kanagawa International Foundation and, since 2005, as coordinator for high-level Nepal–Japan bilateral exchanges. He organized the Nepal–Japan Business Dialogue during the Nepali President’s official visit to Japan in 2026 and works with JICA, UNICEF, and local Japanese authorities. He is an advisor to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Nepal, former General Secretary of NRNA-Japan, former President of NESAJ, and holds adjunct teaching roles at Tsukuba, Aoyama Gakuin, and Nihon Universities. He holds JLPT Level 1 certification.
- Suresh Kumar Karna — Israel
Suresh Kumar Karna is an IT, banking, and economic policy executive with three decades of leadership experience. As Chief Information and Marketing Officer at Kumari Bank (2003–2015), he launched “Kumari Mobile Cash,” Nepal’s first mobile wallet, winning the MBillionth Award for South Asia. He later served as COO of Nepal Bank Limited (2015–2019), overseeing its Core Banking System overhaul. Since 2024, he has chaired Kumo Labs Pvt. Ltd. He served two terms as President of the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN Federation), was an ex-officio member of Nepal’s IT Council, and helped draft the National IT Policy (2000). He holds an MBA from Beijing Normal University’s Belt and Road School and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). He received the National ICT Excellence Award in 2019 and began his career as a top-ranked Inspector in the Nepal Police.
- Prapti Sherchan — Spain
Prapti Sherchan is an international development and partnerships leader with 15 years of experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. As Operations Officer for Gender Solutions and Impact at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group, since 2015, she leads IFC India’s Gender Country Program and previously served as Asia Lead for the Women’s Insurance Program.She led a commercial-banking research initiative across Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and a 10-country study with the ASEAN Insurance Council on workforce reporting. She holds an MBA in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University’s Heller School and a B.A. in Sociology from the National University of Singapore. She is U.S. Board Co-Chair of Women Lead Nepal and Co-Founder of the IFC Millennial+ Resource Group.
- Sharu Joshi — Germany
Sharu Joshi is a policy expert with over 25 years of experience in labor migration governance, gender equality, and international cooperation. She contributed to drafting Nepal’s Foreign Employment Act (2007), Regulations (2008), and Policy (2012). She spent a decade with UN Women (2002–2012) as Regional Programme Manager and Labour Diplomacy Lead for South Asia, and served as Programme Specialist for UN Women Nepal (2012–2018).Since 2018, she has worked as an independent consultant to the World Bank and UN Women, representing Nepal at the Global Forum on Migration and Development and COP28. As an Executive Board Member of the Nepal Policy Institute since 2024, she advocates for out-of-country voting rights for migrant workers. She holds M.A. degrees from the Institute of Social Studies (The Hague) and Tribhuvan University, and authored “Euta Sinko Bhachi Herda”.
- Dr. Padmakshi Rana — Oman
Dr. Padmakshi Rana is a development and entrepreneurship specialist with over 15 years of experience in sustainable development and inclusive innovation. Since 2022, she has served as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Impact Hub Kathmandu, managing partnerships with UK Aid/FCDO, EU, UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCAP, World Bank, and the Royal Academy of Engineering.She holds a Ph.D. from the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, an MPhil from Cambridge, and an MBA from Webster University Thailand. She previously held research and teaching positions at Cambridge and co-founded The Inceptery, a Singapore-based sustainability consultancy. Her research focuses on sustainable business models and post-disaster tourism recovery in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
- Chudamani Kharel — Malaysia
Chudamani Kharel is an education and sports administration professional. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts in English, Master of Arts in Political Science, and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), all from Tribhuvan University.He currently serves as General Secretary of the Nepal Yoga Sports Association. He previously served as General Secretary of the Nepal Skating and Skateboard Association and Member Secretary of the 7th National Games Sub-Committee under the National Sports Council. His academic career includes serving as a Lecturer in English at Cosmopolitan College and John Bauer College.
- Prof. Dr. Sangam Shrestha — South Korea
Prof. Dr. Sangam Shrestha is an academic leader and policy expert with over 25 years of experience in climate resilience, international cooperation, and water-security diplomacy. He is a Professor and former Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, and Founding Co-Director of the Global Water & Sanitation Center.He has secured international research grants from ADB, the World Bank, Gates Foundation, EU, FAO, and UNESCO. He holds a Ph.D. in Integrated River Basin Management from the University of Yamanashi (Japan) and has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 52). Ranked 9th globally in Climate Change and River Studies by ScholarGPS, he holds visiting professorships at Beijing Normal University and the National University of Laos.
- Dr. Manchala Jha — Sri Lanka
Dr. Manchala Jha is a governance specialist who served as Commissioner of Nepal’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015–2019), representing Nepal at international forums on transitional justice, including presentational work in Sri Lanka.She is an Assistant Professor at Tribhuvan University, where she taught in the Master’s program on Governance and Anti-Corruption (2021–2024). She holds a Ph.D. in Hindi Literature from B.R. Ambedkar University (India), as well as Master’s degrees in Political Science and Hindi Literature from Tribhuvan University. She was an Invited Expert Member on the UN Istanbul Programme of Action National Committee (2011–2020) and received the Mahendra Vidya Bhushan in 1996.
- Giri Bahadur Sunar — Saudi Arabia
Giri Bahadur Sunar is a social scientist and development consultant with more than 25 years of experience in social safeguards, GESI mainstreaming, and climate adaptation across ADB and World Bank infrastructure programs. He is an M.Phil. graduate (2019) and Ph.D. scholar in Sociology at Tribhuvan University. He authored the book “Empowering Women Through Self-Defense” (Scholars’ Press, Germany) and has written over 100 policy columns for national dailies such as The Himalayan Times, The Annapurna Express, and Republica. He also serves as Secretary of Social, Environment and Rural Development Nepal (SERD-Nepal)
