Qatari Amir Althani is coming on a two-day visit to Nepal from May 12

Qatari emir is going to visit Nepal for the first time. Earlier, he was scheduled to come on October 20-21, but it was postponed at the last minute due to the Israel-Hamas war. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not published the tour schedule. A labor agreement was signed between Nepal and Qatar in 2005.

Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Dol Prasad Aryal has conveyed the message that Nepal is ready to sign a labor agreement with the Qatari Ambassador to Nepal, Mishal Win Mohammad LAE Ansari. In a meeting at the ministry on Monday, Minister Aryal said that it is necessary to revise the labor agreement that was made 19 years ago. "A lot of things have changed. According to the current environment, it seems necessary to make an agreement," Labor spokesperson Gobind Rizal told Kantipur, "The Minister of Labor proposed the same issue to the ambassador."

Nepal has wanted to revise the labor agreement since 2017. For this, joint technical committee meetings have been held several times between the high labor officials of the two countries. Qatar has recently reformed the kafala system (sponsorship system) and made the labor market policy more flexible. The Khruz (exit permit) required for migrant workers to leave Qatar has been removed. There are 367 thousand 389 Nepali workers in Qatar, of which 351 thousand 834 are male and 15 thousand 555 are female.

Labor spokesperson Rizal said that he wants to finalize the labor agreement during the visit of the Emir. We are currently in discussions. But we have not reached the decision to sign the agreement," said Rizal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Law has already suggested the draft of the new labor agreement. Nepal has already sent those suggestions to Qatar government.

Nepalese Ambassador to Qatar Naresh Vikram Dhakal said that Qatar is positive for labor agreement. Qatar is the main destination country for Nepal. Both sides are positive to enter into a labor agreement during this visit. But, we have very little time," he said, "if it doesn't happen in this visit, the way will be opened to do it as soon as possible."

In a meeting with the ambassador, Labor Minister Aryal expects Qatar's support in developing skilled manpower production. We want to send skilled Nepali workers to work. Therefore, we expect your support in developing the skills of the workers," the minister said to the Qatari ambassador. He also said that he is sure that Nepali workers working in Qatar will be treated like other workers. I am confident that Qatar has treated Nepali workers equally. "Qatar has practiced decent and orderly labor, which is commendable," he said. Qatari Ambassador Ansari said that Nepal is the second largest source country for Qatar and said that Qatar is always ready to help in the development of skills of Nepali workers.