FAREWELL CALL BY NEPAL CHARGE, NESA ALUMNUS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 003166 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2016 TAGS: PINR PREL NP AE SUBJECT: FAREWELL CALL BY NEPAL CHARGE, NESA ALUMNUS, RETURNING TO KATHMANDU Classified By: CDA Martin R. Quinn for reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Nepal Charge d,Affaires Madhuban Prasad Paudel paid a farewell call on CDA August 1 and said he would be assuming his new position as MFA Director of South Asian Affairs in Kathmandu later this month, having turned down the Director of Protocol job. Mr. Paudel said he had served formerly as the Deputy Director of Protocol. Mr. Paudel expressed the hope that this domestic assignment would be short so that he could soon return to an overseas post, possibly in the UAE (his preference) or Qatar as ambassador. The Nepal COM position in the UAE, he noted, had recently been upgraded and he had also been promoted ) making him eligible. ¶2. (C) A quiet, circumspect man, Mr. Paudel briefly commented on the recent turmoil in his country and his concerns about the Maoists. He seems well-disposed toward the US, having had a highly positive experience as a seminar participant at the NDU-affiliated Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. QUINN