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KATHMANDU, July 21: At a time when the government is struggling to rein in spending, more than 1,700 civil servants traveled abroad last fiscal year under the banner of training, workshops, seminars, and conferences—often at the expense of taxpayers and with little oversight.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), a total of 1,763 government officials visited more than three dozen countries in fiscal year 2081/82 (2024/25). This figure does not include members of the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, or Nepal Police deployed abroad for professional training or exercises.

While some trips were justifiable, a significant number of officials are reported to have taken unnecessary trips, misusing public funds. “Many of these visits had little relevance to their actual responsibilities,” a senior OPMCM official said.

Officials used both diplomatic (red) and official (blue) passports for these visits, with destinations ranging from South Korea, Switzerland, and Japan to the U.S., U.K., Canada, China, and even Brazil and South Africa.

In the last fiscal year alone, 204 staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs travelled abroad, followed by 162 from the Ministry of Defence, 130 from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and 119 from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Forests and Environment sent 93 personnel overseas, while the Ministry of Health and Population dispatched 86. Other ministries with notable numbers include the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (34), Physical Infrastructure and Transport (25), Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (24), Industry, Commerce and Supplies (62), and Education, Science and Technology (31). The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs sent 20 staff, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development sent 43. Smaller contingents came from the Ministry of Urban Development (21), Women, Children and Senior Citizens (15), Youth and Sports (7), Water Supply (8), and Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (16). The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers alone sent 38 officials. An additional 44 employees from various constitutional commissions and 20 from the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration also undertook foreign visits. Meanwhile, provincial and local governments collectively sent 517 staff members abroad.

Repeated Decisions, Poor Compliance

Despite multiple policy directives to restrict foreign travel, government employees continue to travel frequently. In December 2024, a secretary-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary issued a decision to tighten rules on official foreign visits, mandating that only trips directly relevant to the work of the concerned ministry—and incurring no additional burden on the state—be approved.

Yet, enforcement remains weak. A Cabinet decision on March 13, 2023 (2079 Falgun 30) had already instructed officials to avoid foreign trips unless absolutely essential. Similar decisions were taken during the tenure of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who had introduced travel directives and guidelines to curb such visits—but those measures too failed to deter unnecessary trips.

The Foreign Visit Management Directive, 2075 clearly bars any foreign travel funded by contractors or consultants involved in government projects. “No government official shall be nominated for a foreign visit on expenses borne by project contractors or consultants,” the directive states.

Still, officials often ignore these rules. The budget implementation guidelines for fiscal year 2082/83, issued by the Ministry of Finance on July 16, explicitly reaffirm that prior approval from the ministry is mandatory for all foreign visits—except in cases of high-level diplomatic missions or meetings of international bodies where Nepal holds membership.

Billions Spent

These visits come with a high financial cost. According to Ministry of Finance data, in FY 2079/80, a staggering Rs 3.86 billion was spent under the heading of “monitoring, evaluation, and visits”—a large portion of which was for foreign travel. In the previous fiscal year (2078/79), Rs 3.43 billion was spent under the same category.

Despite official rhetoric to enforce discipline in foreign travel, the practice of bureaucratic junkets continues unabated—raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and fiscal prudence in Nepal’s civil service.

 People’s News Monitoring Service