According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), envoy Rae will land in Kathmandu Monday afternoon. He is scheduled to present his credentials to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, along with envoys of various other countries to Nepal, on Wednesday. [break]
This is the third ambassadorial assignment of Rae after Vietnam and Hungary. He is succeeding outgoing ambassador Jayanta Prasad, who left Kathmandu last Monday after completing his term in Kathmandu.
Rae had previously served as Joint Secretary (North) looking after the issues of Nepal and Bhutan (2002-2006) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Prior to taking ambassadorial assignment, Rae served at various Indian missions in different capacities.
While India sent its new envoy to Nepal within a week after the outgoing envoy left Kathmandu, Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi has remained without an ambassador after then ambassador Rukma Shumser Rana was recalled in 2011. Rana was recalled after a parliamentary committee directed then government to take the decision saying that that a person associated with a company under investigation for irregularities can no longer deserve to hold such a prestigious post.
Foreign affairs experts have slammed government´s failure to appoint ambassador even to the country of a great importance to Nepal. “This is a great weakness on our part. This is very unfortunate to let our embassy in the most important country like India without ambassador for such a long time,” said former ambassador and permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations Prof Dr Jayaraj Acharya.
Acharya asked the government to make appointment of ambassadors without further delay. “India´s move has shown how important is Nepal to India. India is more important to Nepal. This is unfortunate [that we have failed to appoint new envoy to India],” he said.
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