Gulf countries ready to employ a million Nepalese

KATHMANDU: Gulf nations have told Nepal they would like to step up recruitment of Nepalese workers, taking in an extra one million of them, a government minister said. “Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have assured us they can provide Nepal with an additional one million jobs for semi-skilled Nepalese,” Information Minister Mohammad Mohasin said on state radio late on Friday. The request for workers came during a visit to Gulf countries by a Nepalese delegation that returned Thursday, the radio reported. It gave no hiring timeframe. Money from workers abroad has become increasingly crucial for Nepal, reeling from a Maoist insurgency aimed at toppling the monarchy that has deepened its economic woes. But the dream of earning money went sour for 12 Nepalese who were taken hostage by militants in Iraq and then killed in August. They had taken loans worth thousands of dollars to travel to the Gulf to work as household help in Jordan, their families said. afp

Home | Foreign