'Nepali workers have no problem in Qatar'

Kathmandu, June 7: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Wednesday said that no Nepali migrant worker in Qatar has reported inconvenience or problems so far.

"We have been closely monitoring the situation in Qatar so as to avoid any untoward situation with the Nepali migrant workers. The Nepali Mission in Doha, the capital city, has been directed to assess the situation and update the ministry accordingly," said Bharat Raj Poudyal, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

After Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, as well as Egypt, Libya Maldives and Yemen severed ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism, it is undergoing through one of the biggest diplomatic crises.

Although the oil-rich nation has denied the accusations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar had issued a press statement to assure its citizens and foreigners of a normal situation there, the situation has been discouraging there as large international carriers like Etihad, Emirates, Fly Dubai and Gulf Air have halted all flights to and from Doha.

UAE's flag carrier Etihad has already cancelled its flights to Doha from Kathmandu and vice versa.

But the MoFA has assured that the Nepali Mission in Doha would provide all necessary support required to the Nepalis there.

"We have urged the Nepali citizens to contact the Mission should there be any difficulties," said Poudyal.

Manpower entrepreneurs also shared that the situation was not alarming there.

General-secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) Rohan Gurung said that no one need worry about the Nepali workers in Qatar.

"We have asked the manpower agencies here to make a list of workers sent to Qatar through their companies and find out the situation of Nepali citizens. Our primary focus is on the lorry drivers, airport employees and construction workers," he said.

Gurung said that the situation wouldn't prolong for long as there had been similar situations in the past but they had been solved diplomatically.

However, he said that if the situation should continue longer, it would create problems for the airport and construction workers.

Thousand or workers are involved in the construction of sport infrastructure required for the FIFA Football World Cup 2022 scheduled to be held in Qatar.

About 400,000 Nepalis are working in various sectors in Qatar.