Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that more than 1.7 million Nepalese nationals, who are currently residing in different countries in the Middle-East are safe. The Ministry said this during a press briefing organized in Kathmandu to inform about the recent developments in the Middle East.
Nepal government accords top priority to the safety of its citizens in the Gulf counties, said Ram Kaji Khadka, joint secretary and chief of the ministry’s Central Asia, West Asia and Africa Division talking to media persons on Sunday.
During the occasion an update on Nepali nationals in the region was presented, outlining their demographic profile, current conditions and ongoing efforts.
He said that the government has issuing travel advisory asking them to remain safe. According to joint secretary Khadka, a Whatsapp group has been formed to keep in touch with the chiefs of Nepalese missions stationed in the concerned counties. The ministry has also initiated development of online registration platform in coordination with the consular department, he informed.
The ministry on Sunday formed an emergency relief team headed by foreign secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai. A relief strategy will be formulated based on the possible war environment, conflict period, steps to be taken by neighbouring countries and initiatives taken by the concerned countries, said the ministry.
The highest number of Nepali nationals, around 700,000 are currently residing in United Arab Emirates. The remaining one million Nepalese are residing in Saudi Arab, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and Lebanon, according to the Foreign Ministry.
On the occasion, joint secretary Krishna Prasad Dhakal said, all the Nepalese residing in the Middle East are safe till now. He also asked the Nepalese residing there not to panic, keep contact with the relatives and to update themselves through the official information issued by the embassy and the local authorities. Spokesperson at the ministry Lok Bahadur Paudel said that, the ministry is closely watching the developments in the Gulf counties and asked all concerned to maintain patience.
