Sudhakar Dalela appointed as next Indian Ambassador to Nepal
Sudhakar Dalela, presently Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to Nepal. He will succeed Naveen Srivastava, who recently completed his three-year term and retired. The Ministry of External Affairs announced Dalela's appointment on Friday evening, stating that he is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Dalela, who led negotiations for the BRICS declaration as India's Sherpa, brings significant diplomatic experience to the role. Most recently, he served as India's Ambassador to Bhutan between 2022 and 2025. In September, he was appointed as Secretary, Economic Relations, handling India's economic diplomacy and development partnerships with countries in the Global South. His background includes serving as Director in the Prime Minister's Office during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tenure, focusing on India's engagement with South Asian neighbours, East Asia, and Indo-Pacific region countries.
The appointment of a secretary-level officer to Kathmandu represents an elevation from previous practice, where India typically dispatched Additional Secretary-rank officials to the post. This upgrade signals elevated importance given to the bilateral relationship. The appointments follow New Delhi and Kathmandu engaging to work out Prime Minister Balen Shah's first bilateral visit to India next month. Nepal had cleared Nischal Nath Pandey as its ambassador to India a day earlier.
