This is very appalling, especially when the migrant workers are already in miserable conditions with no employment and money due to coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the UAE Government has decided to automatically renew visas, exempt all applicable fines and extend the expiry date of all IDs until December in view of COVID-19.

However, the UAE Cabinet has amended all the decisions related to amnesty, visa fine waivers and validity extensions adopted to relieve people during the pandemic.

According to the new resolutions that came into effect from July 11, 2020

• Visit visa holders, whose visa expired earlier on March 1, should leave the country by August 12
• Visit visa holders who want to stay in the country should renew their visas by paying applicable tax and fine amount
• Resident visas holders, whose visa expired in March and April, should renew their visas within a month from July 12
• Resident visa holders, whose visa expired after July 11, should apply for a new visa

If one fails to renew their visa or leave the UAE within the stipulated deadline, they are liable to the fines as per the UAE’s immigration law.

As per the law, NPR 4,000 to 9,000 will be fined for the first day and NPR 800 to 3,000 per day from the second day.

According to the Non-Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA), as many as 50,000 Nepali migrant workers in UAE are left unpaid since the coronavirus outbreak.

Issuing a statement on July 14, the NRNA has urged the government to resume regular international flights and rescue flights for the time being so that the stranded Nepalis can avoid any punishment due to visa-related issues.

“Those who have already lost their jobs cannot pay such a huge amount of money in fine. Therefore, it is important for the government to increase the number of rescue flights at the earliest,” said NRNA.

However, the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi seems to be reluctant to address the issues of migrant workers.

The Embassy has received huge criticism for its inability to take any proactive initiatives to resolve the issues.

The post UAE Updates Visa Rules, Puts Nepali Migrant Workers in Dismay! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

According to the Non-Resident Nepalis’ Association (NRNA), around 77% of the Nepalis living in various foreign countries are desperate to return to Nepal.

“77% of the Nepalis who call at our 24/7 helpline have requested us to facilitate in their return and 11% have opted for travel to some other countries,” said Dr. Hem Raj Sharma, NRNA General Secretary.

Non- Resident Nepalis (NRNs) in various countries including the UAE, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Finland, the USA and the UK have escalated their problems.

“Even most of the parents of the migrant workers are more worried and have been requesting NRNA to work for their return,” he added.

Most of the Nepalis in middle east countries have already lost their jobs and are on the verge of the financial crisis.

Meanwhile, the NRNA has been collecting the data of the affected NRNs and working with Nepali Embassies abroad to facilitate the most essential needs.

So far, Nepal has reported only 16 coronavirus infection cases.

According to the Ministry of Health and Populations (MoHP), the Nepali Government has conducted sample tests on 12,900 people so far across the country. Among them, 6,299 persons were tested through Polymerase Change Reaction (PCR) and 6,606 persons through Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT).

So far, 5,771 suspects have been kept in quarantine and 99 in isolation wards.

Meanwhile, the government has started to contact tracing of the relatives and neighbors of the COVID-19 patients.

Stay Tuned to Nepali Sansar for Latest Updates on COVID-19!

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Dignitaries at the Program:

• Yogesh Bhattarai – Nepali Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
• Mahesh Raj Dahal – Nepali Ambassador to Australia
• Shesh Ghale – NRNA’s former President and Chief Patron
• Graladis – Member of Australian Federal Parliament
• Keshab Kandel – President of NRNA Australia

During the program, Minister Bhattarai has persuaded the Nepali tourism authorities to attract 100,000 Australian tourists during Visit Nepal Year 2020.

Minister Bhattarai said that the Nepali Government is trying to implement direct flight services between Nepal and Australia to provide hassle-free transportation facilities for the Australian tourists.

He further requested the Nepalese to support the Australians in the devastating bushfire incident.

Earlier, Minister Yogesh Bhattarai has organized the inauguration ceremony of ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ campaign in Sydney on January 7, 2020.

The Nepali government has inaugurated the ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ campaign on January 1, 2020 with an aim to attract 2 million foreign tourists.

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In this regard, Nepal Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Gyawali said the government is ready to work with NPI in its policy-level initiatives.

Speaking at the NRNA first NRN Global Knowledge Convention under the theme ‘Diaspora’s Role in Development Policies of Nepal’, Gyawali welcomed NPI to audit the country’s existing policies on the basis of world’s best practices and make necessary recommendations for alternative policies.

Commending Nepali diaspora’s research efforts, Gyawali urged NPI to help the government leverage their strengths towards achieving the aim of ‘prosperous Nepal, happy Nepalis’.

“Many things which are not possible to do living away from the motherland have become possible now due to the ICT facilities and advanced modes of connectivity,” said  NPI Chair Khagendra Dhakal.

Meanwhile, the Vice-chairperson of the National Planning Commission Puspa Raj Kadel also expressed willingness to work with NPI.

“NPC being the major government think-tank, I would appreciate the collaboration of NPI in areas of government priorities,” Kadel added.

As part of the session, NPI Executive Member Sharad Neupane presented NPI’s Strategic Plan (2019-2021) and said the institute was ready to partner with the government.

Krishna Adhikari from Oxford University, Yubaraj Pokhrel from South Asian University of Delhi, Economist Madan Kumar Dahal, social leader Sharu Joshi Shrestha and NRNA Chair Bhaban Bhatta were among other dignitaries present at the event.

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The three-day convention titled ‘Global Knowledge Convention’ will be held in Kathmandu during October 12-14, 2018.

“The three-day convention intends to bring together Nepali expertise scattered around the world and discuss possible measures for Nepal’s growth, development and prosperity,” NRNA President Bhaban Bhatta said in an official release.

Speaking about the convention, the Vice-President of NRNA Kumar Panta said the convention would bring together more than 350 Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) and various other international experts onto a single platform.

According to Panta, the convention will be divided into 19 sessions and will see experts presenting nearly 160 research papers, besides discussions and deliberations on policies concerning investment in Nepal and ways to address them.

Further speaking about NRNA, Panta said the organization was established and with a commitment to bring back home the capital that Nepalis earn in the foreign land.

“The convention will not only encourage NRNs to invest in Nepal but will also bring their expertise and knowledge to the country,” he added.

It is noteworthy that NRNA is also launching its long-awaited Strategic Plan (2019-22) under its own initiative, Nepali Policy Institute (NPI), which advocates for effective public policy in Nepal for overall development.

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As a global initiative of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), NPI has been actively focused on social and economic development of Nepal.

In a recent move, NPI has decided to unveil its Strategic Plan (2019-2021) for the country’s development at a plenary session of the first Global Knowledge Conference to be held in Kathmandu during October 12-14, 2018.

“After 10 months of internal preparation, NPI is all set to unveil its Strategic Plan for 2019-2021 and this will be NPI’s first public presence while the team was working internally for several months,” says NPI Chair Khagendra Dhakal.

As part of its plan, NPI will be presenting eminent speakers to discuss development policies of Nepal, Dhakal adds.

Why Nepal Policy Institute (NPI)?

To a question on what different NPI will make compared to the other existing think-tanks, Dhakal clarified saying, “NPI is not to take other’s space in Nepal but to strengthen think-tank and public policy research, analysis and advocacy ecosystem in Nepal through collaboration, partnership and exchanges.”

Dhakal was confident in saying that NPI makes difference with its swift, wide range and multi-angled strategy recommendations for effective implementation of the country’s public policy.

“What makes NPI unique is that it will bring the world resources to Nepal and bring Nepali experience to the world by promoting Nepal in the global arena,” adds Dhakal.

According to Dhakal, NPI will be a consortium of Nepali-origin public policy experts, practitioners, researchers and consultants globally working in collaboration and partnership with people and institutions working in the interest of Nepal and Nepali people, including Nepali diaspora.

NPI aims to work as a border-less organization working and connecting Nepalis, globally.

Focus & Priorities
As the first step in its strategy, Dhakal said they would work with the National Planning Commission (NPC) towards identifying national needs and priorities before deciding on the final action plan.

NPI’s current list of core activities includes labor migration, utilization of remittances, revenue & expenditure management across the provincial & local levels, international investment, trade, and tourism.

Besides, the organization has some long-term priority tasks including R&D for economic diversification, value addition in health, environment, agriculture and natural resources, and meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under UN 2030 Agenda.

NPI & First Global Knowledge Conference 2018

NPI’s plans as part of the Global Knowledge Conference 2018 include:

• NPI Proposal Presentation by NPI Executive Member Sharad Neupane
• Speech by the National Planning Commission’s Vice Chair Pushpa Kadel, NRNA Founder and International Coordinator Bhim Udash, Foreign Secretary Shanker Bairagi and Krishna Adhikari from Oxford University on the role of Nepali diaspora in developing effective policies for Nepal
• Panel discussion on NPI’s proposal involving NRNA President Bhaban Bhatta, Economist Madan Kumar Dahal and Nepali social leader and NPI Executive Committee Member Sharu Joshi Shrestha

 
Former Nepali Foreign & Finance Minister Bhekh Bahadur Thapa is going to chair the session that will be moderated by NPI Chair Dhakal.

NPI will finalize its strategy based on the inputs of the session, informed Dhakal.

The Background
NPI is a result of NRNA’s 15-year-long journey across the global network and emerged out of a dire need for policy institute in Nepal as part of NRNA Vision 2020 and Beyond.

The concept of NPI was first tabled at the NRNA Convention 2017 along with the vision document, which received a wide applaud from the global diaspora.

Further, NPI was integrated with the Constitution and the current President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed Hongkong-based Dhakal as its Chair for further development.

In the next 10 months’ time after the prior announcement, NPI spread its wings with a new steering and research committees and formed its medium-term Founding Strategic Plan.

Now, the organization is all set to present its Strategic Plan (2019-2021) for Nepal as part of the Global Knowledge Conference during October 12-14, 2018.

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The US-based Pew Research Center, in its analysis of World Bank report for 2016, concluded that Nepal is leading the way with an estimated USD 6.6 billion in remittances equivalent to 31.3 percent of the country’s GDP.

With regard to remittances by percentage of GDP, Nepal (31.3 percent) was followed by Kyrgyzstan (USD 2 billion, 30.4 percent of GDP), Tajikistan (USD 1.9 billion, 26.9 percent of GDP), among others.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates remained the biggest source of remittances for Nepal in 2016.

Nepal saw a GDP revenue of USD 21.1 billion in 2016, ranking 96^th in the global ranking in terms of purchasing power parity.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than 1.6 million Nepalese were living in other countries in 2015.

Nepal’s Remittance Trend over the Years

According to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 report, Nepal has been featuring among the top remittance recipient countries over the last three years.

When it comes to remittances (as a percentage of GDP), Nepal (29 percent) stood third in the list of largest remittance recipients following Tajikistan (42 percent) and the Kyrgyz Republic (30 percent) in 2015.

When it comes to remittances (by revenues) in 2015, Nepal (USD 6.6 billion) followed India (USD 72.2 billion), Pakistan (USD 20.1 billion) and Bangladesh (USD 15.8 billion) and Sri Lanka (USD 7.2 billion).

Nepal, with 29.2 percent remittances as a share of GDP, was also among the top 10 recipients in 2014.

Immigration and Emigration

Nepal was among the top ten immigration and emigration nations in 2013.

When it comes to migration corridors, Nepal featured among the top 10 list for forming migration corridors with India and Saudi Arabia.

Here, it is noteworthy that remittances to Nepal have almost doubled over the 2007-16 period boosting the country’s status as the top remittance-dependent nation.

According to UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report, ‘Sending Money Home: Contributing to the SDGs, One Family at a Time’, the contribution of remittances to Nepal’s GDP has grown from 17 percent in 2007 to 32 percent by 2016.

For More Investment

In a move boosting investment in Nepal, the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has come forward to set up a Rs 10 billion worth investment fund to promote investment in the country.

NRNA President Bhawan Bhatta informed this at a meeting on January 30, 2018 while informing that the fund will be utilized for the infrastructure development required to promote investments.

On the occasion, NRNA highlighted key developments they are undertaking in Nepal, which includes the construction of Laprak Model Settlement in Laprak of Gorkha and a park on 32 ropanis land on the Bagmati River bank at Shankhamul at an investment of Rs 22.5 million.

The post Nepal Tops 2016 Global Ranking For Remittances by GDP appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Through this special program in the New Year 2018, the organization (Sneha Travel Media) is focused on promoting Nepali culture and tourism in around 70 countries.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) are supporting this tourism promotion program.

“We are launching this campaign in Itahari, Sauraha, Janakpur, Pokhara, and Nepalgunj within the country and in 70 different countries of the world including Turkey, Australia, United States and United Kingdom,” says Suresh Chandra Basnet, Program Coordinator.

Basnet further informed that this special program will promote Nepali food and culture, covering various communities ranging from mountainous regions to Tarai and east to west, on a global scale.

This tourism and culture promotional program is expected to boost inflow of tourists to Nepal and is coming at a time when the country has registered a record tourist arrivals of 9 lakh in 2017.

It’s definitely an exciting update for the global Nepali community!

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Nepal has drawn a wide global attention in the recent times and as a result, the global business community has also been expressing its willingness to invest in Nepal, every now and then.

India for infrastructure development, South Korea for smart city development, US in energy and education sectors, likewise, many other countries have come forward to invest in Nepal in the recent times.

In the recent past, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (AFEC) have also signed a new agreement to boost business and trade ties between the two countries.

Following the trend, now the Japanese business community and Non-Resident Association (NRNA) Korea have also expressed their willingness to invest in Nepal.

“Foreigners would benefit by investing in Nepal, as the country is a gateway to reach out to markets of India, China and other South Asian countries,” says the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Bhawani Rana.

Nepal’s FDI Initiatives Are Encouraging: Japan

An official statement in this regard was made by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Singapore (JCCIS) President Tochiori Takuhiro.

A 12-member JCCIS team, including eight Japanese companies that expanded their base to Singapore, has come to Nepal on November 06, 2017, to assess investment climate in the country and discuss cooperation in various sectors.

The companies in the delegation belong to various sectors such as textiles, manufacturing, tourism, banking, logistics, oil and gas.

“We are here because we see an opportunity in this country as it has young workforce and other potential to grow. Lately, the government has also started taking serious initiatives to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is encouraging,” says Tochiori Takuhiro.

Tochiori was speaking at an interaction program organised by FNCCI on November 07, 2017.

On the occasion, Tochiori further informed that the team would meet domestic entrepreneurs of various sectors, over the next three days, to finalize the areas of cooperation.

NRNA Korea Keen on Investing

In a recently-held meeting with the Nepali trade delegation of 14 Nepal-Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NKCCI) members and 9 hoteliers, NRNA Korea has also expressed its willingness to invest in Nepal.

The Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) informed this in an official statement on November 07, 2017.

During the B2B meeting organized by Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), officials of NRNA Korea expressed commitment to work for bilateral trade and tourism promotion,” said HAN.

According to HAN, the delegation participated in an event called G Fair Korea and has also organized a trade promotion program titled- ‘Nepal: Your Destination for Tourism and Trade’.

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The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has pledged its support to the Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) ‘Ujyalo Nepal Abhiyan’ (Brighter Nepal Campaign).

Bhaban Bhatta, the newly elected President of NRNA, said that the association will provide 10 million LED bulbs costing around Rs 1 billion in different phases over a two-year period. The power-efficient LED bulbs will contribute 200 megawatts to the country’s power system.

In his statement, Bhatta said “NEA has been struggling to end load-shedding across the country and the current leadership of the NEA has presented some commendable results, which is very encouraging for us. We would like to support Kulman Ghising’s initiative to make the country load-shedding free by providing 10 million LED bulbs within the next two years.”

NEA said that they are yet to receive NRNA’s formal commitment.

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