Nepal Parliament okays Nilambar Acharya as new envoy to India

Nepal's Parliament on Sunday endorsed the appointment of former law minister Nilambar Acharya as the country's next ambassador to India.

There is a provision in the Constitution that the names of ambassadors should go through the parliamentary hearing committee once they are nominated by the government at the recommendation of the Constitutional Council before formally being appointed by the president.

The committee endorsed the names of Acharya, Udaya Raj Pandey, Anjan Shakya and Krishna Prasad Dhakal, as Nepal's envoys to India, Malaysia, Israel and the UAE, respectively.

The names of the four proposed ambassadors will now be forwarded to President Bidya Bhandari for formal appointment.

While responding to questions in the parliamentary committee, Acharya said that although there is an open border between Nepal and India, the "hearts of the two countries are yet to be opened".

There is a need to create an environment of confidence as some kind of suspicion still persists in bilateral relations, he said.

Acharya, a former minister for law and justice, said he will tell the Indian leadership that Nepal's relationship with China does not affect its ties with India.

He said an ambassador must be able to convince states that a nation's relationship with another nation is not at the expense of its ties with other countries.