Kathmandu, Apr. 10
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said
on Friday that the government is still evaluating the situation in West Asia to
decide whether to issue new labour permits.
The Department of Foreign Employment, an
agency under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS)
has begun to issue labour permits for those seeking re-entry to the countries
in the West Asian region, including the Gulf, after a brief halt.
But issuing new permits is still under
consideration, said Ram Kaji Khadka, Joint Secretary and Head of the Central
Asia, West Asia and Africa Division at the MoFA, informed at a press
conference organised on Friday afternoon.
“However, we are hopeful of an improved
situation following the ceasefire and expect a positive move in terms of
opening labour permits for the new migrant workers,” he said while adding that
the Ministry is evaluating the situation.
The MoFA is getting updates from the Nepali
missions in ten West Asian locations — Tel Aviv, Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi,
Manama, Kuwait City, Muscat, Cairo and Jeddah, along with the Consulate General
in Dubai.
They are regularly updating the Foreign
Ministry with 'situation analysis reports'.
Likewise, Spokesperson of the MoFA, Lok
Bahadur Poudel Kshetri, said that the Emergency Control Room is functioning
round the clock. The room becomes operational during the day, while at night,
designated officials manage the communication on the move through cell phones
and other communication devices.
Nepalis in West Asia and their families in
Nepal can register their complaint or suggestions even during night.
The MoFA also informed that 11 Nepali
citizens in Nepal are safe. One Nepali, Amrit Jha is in custody on a smuggling
case. A persecutor is meeting him on Saturday to get the updates.
Similarly, the government has formed an
organising committee to organise the Wellness Day on April 15. On Nepal’s
proposal, the United Nations has decided to celebrate April 15 every year as
Wellness Day. The government has also directed Nepali mission abroad to
celebrate the day grandly.
A Wellness Walk will be organised on April
18, where the foreign missions in Kathmandu will participate.
Earlier on Thursday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal left
for Port Louis, Mauritius, to address the 9th Indian Ocean
Conference (IOC) 2026 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Dr. S.
Jaishankar.
FM Khanal is scheduled
to hold meetings with his Indian, Mauritian, and Bangladeshi counterparts on
the margins of the Conference, said Kshetri.
The Conference, which
began on Friday, will run till Sunday, and is being organised by the India
Foundation in association with the Government of Mauritius.
During the Conference,
FM Khanal will deliver Nepal's national statement articulating Nepal's
perspectives on Indian Ocean governance, the mountain-ocean ecological nexus,
and the importance of maritime connectivity for economic development, the MoFA
said in a statement.
He is scheduled to
return to Nepal on Monday, April 13.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 April 2026.
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