Most Nepali migrant workers still go to India. According to informal estimates, 6 to 10 million Nepalis are living and working in India. Migra­tion to countries other than India is a more recent phenomenon. (But as Nepalis don’t need permits to work in India, Nepal does not consider it a labor-importing country.) The trend of going to Gulf countries started with the 1990 political change, when Nepal opened up to the outside world. In the past decade, around 3.5 million Nepalis have left to work in various Gulf and some other countries.

Most of these workers are unskilled and do menial jobs, which still pay more than what they would get for similar jobs in Nepal. Among the top Nepali labor importing coun­tries are Malaysia (700,000 workers) and Saudi Arabia (400,000). There have been many reports of exploita­tion and even deaths of Nepali work­ers abroad, as the jobs they land are often different and more difficult than the ones stipulated in official papers. Yet labor diplomacy to bet­ter look after the wellbeing of its cit­izens toiling abroad has never been a government priority.

Many reckon a change to the pattern of Nepali labor migra­tion is urgently needed. Former Nepali ambassador to Qatar Surya Nath Mishra says time has come to explore job markets for highly skilled workers such as engineers, nurses, and doctors. “Our current focus is on sending unskilled man­power. Around 97 percent of Nepali migrant workers are unskilled,” he says. Why can’t we better train our people and send them to do high­er-level jobs, he asks?

Such a shift has also become necessary as unskilled labor migra­tion, and the national economy it sustains, can be disrupted at any time, due to multiple factors outside Nepal’s control. It would be won­derful if Nepal could employ these people for its own development. But that’s another story altogether.

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Risks abound as globalization scatters Nepali migrant workers

The Gulf and other countries that host a large number of Nepali youths are apparently not a big priority. Unlike previous governments, the Oli-led government may have adopted a policy of looking beyond India and China, but there has been no significant change in its labor diplomacy. Besides the Gulf countries, there are thousands of Nepali workers in South Korea and Malaysia, but bilateral engagements with the two countries are minimal.

The first priority of Nepal’s for­eign policy, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has always been its immediate neighbors India and China.

The second, third and fourth priorities are its extended neigh­borhood, development partners or major powers, and destination countries for overseas employment, respectively.

The last group is comprised of the Gulf and other countries that host a large number of Nepali youths, and which apparently are not a big pri­ority. Unlike previous governments, the Oli-led government may have adopted a policy of looking beyond India and China, but there has been no significant change in its labor diplomacy.

Besides the Gulf countries, there are thousands of Nepali workers in South Korea and Malaysia, but bilateral engagements with the two countries are minimal. While the government is reaching out to more and more countries to attract invest­ment and technology, South Korea and Malaysia do not figure promi­nently in Nepal’s foreign policy.

The number of Nepali youths going abroad for work is increasing every year. But numerous issues—ranging from cheating in the home country to exploitation in the destination countries—render overseas employ­ment problematic. The issue of female housemaids is arguably even more complex.

“Nepal needs to be cognizant of the fact that the global eco­nomic slowdown and a reduc­tion in major infrastructure proj­ects will reduce the demand for manpower and, in turn, remit­tances,” says Ramesh Nath Pandey, who closely worked with these coun­tries as Nepal’s foreign minister in the early 2000s. As ruling parties seek big investment from big coun­tries, they pay less attention to remit­tances, which in recent years have been the backbone of Nepal’s econ­omy—contributing 26 percent to the national GDP.

136 countries now

“By the early 2000s, Nepali migrant laborers started going in large num­bers to Qatar and the UAE, where a lot of construction work had started, resulting in huge demand for able manpower,” Pandey recalls. The current Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was the Crown Prince when Pandey visited Doha as Nepal’s foreign minister in 2005.

“I apprised him of the sincer­ity and excellent work ethics of Nepalis and told him about the need for a government-to-gov­ernment labor agreement,” Pandey recalls. The Department of Foreign Employment issues labor permits for 136 countries. Between July 2018 and July 2019, as many as 476,705 males and 32,123 females received a permit to work abroad. In the past decade, more than 3.5 million labor permits were issued.

An instance of Nepal’s lackadai­sical approach to labor diplomacy is the vacant ambassadorial posi­tion in South Korea, which hosts 40,000 Nepali migrant workers. A related problem is the flawed selec­tion process for ambassadors. Often, ambassadors are selected based not on their expertise or experience, but partisan loyalty.

In some cases, Nepali ambas­sadors have also caused con­troversy. For example, Maya Kumari Sharma, then ambassador to Qatar, was recalled in 2013 for her remark that the Gulf state was an open jail, alluding to the plight of Nepali migrant workers there. The ambassadorial posi­tion in the Nepali embassy in Doha remained vacant from 2013 to 2017. Observers highlight the need for a foreign policy that gives due prior­ity to labor migration. They suggest that instead of merely issuing work permits for unskilled laborers, Nepal needs to analyze the vision of desti­nation countries, the technologies they are adopting, and the kind of manpower they need, which will give us a better bargaining position.

Former Nepali ambassador to Qatar, Surya Nath Mishra, reckons it is about time the government explored job markets for highly skilled workers such as engineers, nurses, and doc­tors. “We are just focusing on sending unskilled manpower. As many as 97 percent of Nepali migrant workers are unskilled,” he says.

Mishra adds that migrant workers are facing a lot of problems, and most often the source of these problems is in Nepal. He points to the unholy nexus between the Foreign Employ­ment Board and ‘manpower’ agen­cies, which facilitates the sending of laborers in illegal ways. As a result, workers face problems when they reach destination countries. “Things will not improve until labor is made a major plank of our economic diplo­macy,” he suggests.

 

Nine most popular destinations for Nepali migrant workers

Malaysia

Nepal and Malaysia established diplomatic relations on 1 Janu­ary 1960. At present, an estimat­ed 700,000 Nepalis are working there. There are also prospects of Foreign Direct Investment from Malaysia to Nepal. “Malaysian business companies are investing in the areas of telecommunication, tourism, education, training, trad­ing, and services sector,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Another area of cooperation be­tween the two countries is tour­ism. In 2018, over 23,000 Malay­sian nationals visited Nepal.

In light of the multiple reports on the problems Nepali migrant workers face in Malaysia, the two countries are working to reform the recruitment process.

Saudi Arabia

 Nepal and Saudi Arabia formally established diplomatic relations on 15 March 1977. Around 400,000 Nepali nationals have been work­ing in Saudi Arabia, the highest among Gulf countries. There used to be high-level visits between the two countries during the Pancha­yat era. Nepal’s engagement with Saudi Arabia increased substan­tially when we started sending la­borers a decade ago.

According to official data, the volume of trade between the two countries is about $100 million. Another possible area of coop­eration is tourism. From 2017, a direct flight has been connecting Kathmandu with Dammam.

Qatar

Nepal and Qatar established diplomatic relations on 21 Janu­ary 1977. Qatar currently hosts nearly 365,000 Nepali migrant workers, mostly in services and construction sectors. The prospect of employment in Qatar is ev­er-growing due to the massive in­frastructure-building for the FIFA World Cup 2022. There have been concerns about the exploitation of Nepali workers.

UAE

Nepal and the UAE established diplomatic relations on 22 Janu­ary 1977. About 250,000 Nepali migrant workers have been work­ing in the UAE, mostly in the fields of security, transport, sales, hospi­tality, construction, and cleaning. There are frequent bilateral visits between the two countries, which signed an MoU on Recruitment, Employment and Repatriation of Workers on 14 June 2019. The MoU has established a framework for transparent recruitment, ethi­cal employment, and safe repatri­ation of Nepali migrant workers, and replaced the 2007 MoU.

Kuwait

Nepal and Kuwait established diplomatic relations on 25 Feb­ruary 1972, but Nepal opened an embassy in Kuwait only in 2010. Kuwait’s ambassador in New Delhi is accredited to Kathmandu. There are around 70,000 Nepali work­ers in Kuwait, 40 percent of them women.

South Korea

Diplomatic relations between Nepal and the Republic of Korea (RoK) was established on 15 May 1974. There are around 40,000 Nepali workers employed in the ROK. While South Korea opened its embassy in Kathmandu in 1974, Nepal established its own in Seoul only in 2007.

Nepal and the RoK reached an agreement on recruiting Nepali workers under the Employment Permit System (EPS) in 2007. Ne­pal’s participation in the EPS sys­tem has been mutually rewarding for both countries. Nepal-South Korea cooperation encompasses the areas of health, women em­powerment, disaster recovery, poverty alleviation, and education, among others.

Bah­rain

Nepal and the Kingdom of Bah­rain established diplomatic rela­tions on 13 January 1977. There are about 25,000 Nepali nationals in Bahrain. Of late, Bahrain has become one of the most preferred destinations for jobs for Nepali workers.

Oman

Nepal and Oman established diplomatic relations on 21 Janu­ary 1977. The flow of Nepalis to Oman is steadily increasing; there are now around 20,000 of them.

Israel

Diplomatic relations between Nepal and the State of Israel were established on 1 June 1960. Israel opened its embassy in Kathmandu in March 1961. Currently, around 3,000 Nepali nationals are em­ployed in Israel, which has become one of the favorite destinations for Nepalis, particularly female work­ers. Israel has proposed recruit­ment of Nepali caregivers through a G2G process.