KATHMANDU: The government has suspended labour approvals for foreign employment in 12 Middle Eastern countries amid escalating conflict in the region.
Issuing a notice, the Department of Foreign Employment said labour approvals for both individual and institutional categories have been suspended indefinitely.
Spokesperson Chandra Bahadur Shivakoti said the decision was taken in view of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and Gulf region. The suspension applies to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel.
The move follows intensified hostilities between the United States/Israel and Iran. The decision was made at the ministerial level by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.
Following attacks launched by the United States and Israel on Iran on Saturday morning, Iran has reportedly carried out retaliatory strikes, including targeting US military bases in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Iraq.
With the conflict spreading across the Middle East, Nepal has halted labour approvals to these 12 destinations until further notice.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal, a total of 1,729,288 Nepalis are currently working in the Middle East. These include six in Iran, around 6,500 in Israel, 500 in Egypt, 25,000 in Oman, 357,913 in Qatar, 175,000 in Kuwait, 28,000 in Bahrain, 384,865 in Saudi Arabia, nearly 700,000 in the United Arab Emirates, 1,500 in Lebanon, 30,000 in Iraq and 17,000 in Cyprus.
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