Kathmandu, Mar 20 (IANS): Veteran Nepal diplomat Shankar Sharma, the former Ambassador to the US, has been appointed as the new Ambassador to India.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Sunday appointed Sharma to the key post and he will take up his assignment soon.

The post in New Delhi was vacant after Sher Bahadur Deuba government recalled as many as 12 ambassadors including from India. Former minister Nilamber Acharya was the Ambassador until the time of recall.

Sharma brings extensive experience in government, international institutions, and economic research.

Before joining the National Planning Commission as a member in 1997, he worked as a Senior Economic Advisor, in the Ministry of Finance, as a Senior Economist in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, and a Fellow in the East-West Center, Hawaii.

He also served as a Professor of Economics in the Centre for Economic Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University.

As a high level development planner in Nepal, Sharma provided leadership for national planning, policy guidance, program development and monitoring as Vice Chairman. He worked as policy advisor for many national and international organisations like the World Energy Council Committee, the Millenium Development Goal Assessment of the Asia Pacific Region, UNESCAP, Bangkok, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme.