UAE Minister calls on President Paudel

Kathmandu, July 10

The United Arab Emirates' Minister for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the latter's office on Friday.

The President's Office informed in a statement that President Paudel and the UAE minister discussed the existing bilateral relations, mutual interests, and concerns between Nepal and the UAE.

The visiting minister also held bilateral talks with Nepal's Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Gauri Kumari.

The talks were focused on cooperation and exchanges in the areas of trade, investment and tourism, as well as matters related to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri informed at a press meet on Friday.

Earlier, Minister Zeyoudi held courtesy meetings with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal, PM's Chief Political Advisor Asim Shah, and Chief of Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel.

During the meetings, the two sides discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including trade, investment, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, tourism, labour migration, infrastructure development, renewable energy and increasing investment through Sovereign Wealth Funds in priority sectors.

Likewise, he also met Minister of Finance Dr. Swarnim Wagle, Speaker of the House of Representatives DP Aryal and the Minister of Home Affairs Sudhan Gurung.

The delegation is also expected to hold meetings with representatives of Nepal's private sector.

Zeyoudi arrived in Nepal on Wednesday leading an 18-member delegation.

836 Nepalis rescued from scam centres

Meanwhile, the government has rescued a total of 836 Nepali nationals from scam centres operating in the border areas of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand as of July 9. Of them, 709 were rescued from Cambodia, 113 from Myanmar, eight from Laos and six from Thailand.

"At the continuous request of the Nepali Embassy, the Government of Cambodia has been waiving visa fees and penalties for Nepali nationals who have overstayed their visas. This year, the Cambodian government has waived the fees of a total of 602 individuals. A request has also been made to waive penalties for additional Nepali nationals," said Chhetri.

According to the MoFA, it has been continuously coordinating and undertaking initiatives to rescue Nepali nationals who have fallen victim to various online scamming centres in South East Asian nations.

Since 1 May 2026, the Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok has been collecting information through an online form and issuing free one-way travel permits to all Nepali nationals who have lost their passports and sending them to Cambodia.

Relatives of Nepali nationals who are unwilling to return from Cambodia are urged to make every effort to encourage them to return to Nepal.

10 new strategies being prepared

To strengthen economic diplomacy, the government is preparing Country Specific Strategies for an additional 10 countries- Bangladesh, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Malaysia, France, Russia, Canada and Türkiye, bringing the total to 20 countries.

Earlier, in fiscal year 2024/25, the government had prepared strategies for 10 countries including India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, Belgium, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Nepal-Australia Bilateral meet on July 24

Meanwhile, the third meeting of the Nepal-Australia Bilateral Consultative Mechanism is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on 24 July. The Nepali delegation will be led by the Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, while the Australian delegation will be led by Sarah Storey, First Assistant Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia.

Nepal and Australia signed an agreement to establish the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism on 14 July 2017.

Likewise, the MoFA said that Nepal is closely monitoring recent developments in the West Asia region.

"We have consistently maintained that dialogue and diplomacy are the only sustainable means of resolving disputes. We support ongoing initiatives aimed at achieving lasting peace in the region and ensuring the uninterrupted use of the Strait of Hormuz," it said.

According to Chhetri, the situation of Nepali nationals residing there remains normal, and the ministry continues to remain vigilant regarding their safety and well-being.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 July 2026.