Japan positive towards hiring skilled workers

Kathmandu, Nov. 23:

Japan has responded positively to Nepal’s proposal to open the market for skilled and semi-skilled Nepali workers.

“I have urged the Japan government to accept Nepali workers. Japan is very positive about taking Nepali workers and there will be progress in that direction soon,” said Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday after concluding his 5-day Japan visit.

He said that a bill on opening Japan’s labour market for foreign workers was at the Parliament and after its approval from the legislative both the governments would have further dialogue in terms of taking Nepali skilled and semi-skilled workers in Japan.

The issue has become a public agenda for past many years, especially after South Korea opened its market for Nepali workers from 2008.

Nepal was recognised as the best worker supplying country for 2009 and 2011 by South Korea, and Nepali workers are appreciated in Malaysia, Qatar and elsewhere for their hard work and diligence.

Some of the Japanese organisations, such as Japan Agriculture Exchange Council had expressed their desire to take Nepali youth as trainee workers in the past.

Minister Gyawali said that Japan had also agreed to establish and run human resource training and skill development institution and programmes in Nepal.

According to him, he requested his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono to support Nepal in the development and modernisation of agriculture, energy generation, and infrastructure and tourism development as well. He also urged Kono to promote Japanese investment in Nepal and support in making the Visit Nepal Year 2020 successful.

“Japan is also positive to allow direct flight of Nepal Airlines from Kathmandu to the Japanese cities. It will also help in making the VNY 2020 successful,” said Gyawali.

Japan government also expressed its readiness in extending help in the areas of infrastructure development and network expansion, technology transfer, poverty alleviation, climate change, organic agriculture and disaster risk mitigation.

The government of Japan approved 350 million Japanese Yen support to Nepal’s Food Programme. Nepali Ambassador to Japan Prativa Rana and Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo signed the agreement on behalf their countries.

The Foreign Minister had presented keynote speech in Nepal Investment Seminar jointly organised by the Nepali Embassy in Japan, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and UNIDO, ITPO Japan where he updated on the recent political and economic development in Nepal and made a call to Japanese investors to invest in energy, infrastructure, information technology and service areas. 

Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Board of Nepal Maha Prasad Adhikari presented a paper on investment process in Nepal and potential projects that could be of the interest of foreign investors.

While returning, FM Gyawali spent a day in Thailand.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 November 2018.