Three ministers hold joint meeting on foreign labour migration

Kathmandu, March 5: In an effort to work in a coordinated way to address the issues of Nepali migrant workers in the countries of destination, the Foreign Minister, Home Minister and Labour Minister held a meeting on Wednesday.     

Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Saratsingh Bhandari along with the secretaries of the three ministries discussed the ways to explore ideas for effective management of Nepal's foreign labour migration.     

Minister Dr Rana summoned the meeting in the context that the Foreign Ministry was not well informed about the status and destinations of Nepali students and workers in foreign countries but had to rush to rescue them in time of crises.     

During the meeting, Minister Dr Rana said that despite a ban on women working as domestic workers, Nepali women have reached some of the countries in the Middle East through illegal routes.     

Stating that around 48,000 Nepali women have reached Kuwait alone, she stated that their security and rescue could be a challenging task in case of some issues in the future. "So, the government should reconsider in lift such ban (on women),' she added.     

Home Minister Lekhak suggested that an amendment to the Foreign Labour Act 2064 was needed, while Labour Minister Bhandari stated that labour diplomacy was a pressing issue of the time.     

The meeting discussed the issues of undocumented Nepali migrant workers in different countries, challenges of rescue operations for migrant workers in time of crises and limited means and resources of our diplomatic missions.(RSS)