Nepali gov't may lift ban on Nepali migrant workers to Iraq

The Nepali government is mulling lifting the ban on Nepali migrant workers going to Iraq. If all goes as planned, the ban may be lifted on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire on Monday convened separate meetings with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labor and decided to take a call no later than Tuesday, given the urgency of the matter.

According to Tuesday's The Kathmandu Post report, following the massacre of 12 Nepali citizens in August 2006, Nepal had banned its citizens from working in Iraq. After a foreign ministry decision dated Dec. 10, 2008, it is stamped on every Nepali - "not valid for Iraq."

Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai also met United States ambassador to Nepal, Scott H. DeLisi, at his office Monday and discussed the condition of Nepali citizens in Iraq.

CENTCOM, the U.S. contract command, had given a 20-day deadline to Nepali and nationals of other countries, which have banned working in Iraq, to leave Iraq by then.

The foreign ministry also sought information from India which decided last May to lift the ban on its citizens working in Iraq.

Separate requests have been sent to the Nepali mission in New Delhi and the government of India asking on what basis the Indian government lifted the ban and what is the impact after lifting the ban.

It is estimated that there are at least 30,000 Nepalis in Iraq. They had entered the country through various agencies paying a large sum of money.

Source: Xinhua