Nepal and Qatar agree to renew bilateral labor agreement

Nepal and Qatar have agreed to renew their bilateral labor agreement with necessaray amendments in the current one. 

The new agreement was reached during a meeting between Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha and Minister of Labor of Qatar Dr. Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri on Monday.

Minister Shrestha informed his counterpart about the draft sent by the Government of Nepal for the renewal of the labor agreement between Nepal and Qatar.

In this context, it was agreed to finalize the draft soon after holding discussions at the working group level and to organize a signing ceremony in Nepal, according to the Secretariat of Minister Shrestha. A labor agreement was signed between Nepal and Qatar in 2005 to manage and secure labor migration.

The implementation of the decisions taken at the fourth meeting of the Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee held in Kathmandu last December was also discussed on the occasion. At the fourth meeting of the Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee, it was agreed to review the labor agreement.

 Nepal has proposed to assist in the socio-economic reintegration of Nepalis returning from work in Qatar. The Qatari government in response has stated that it will support the establishment of training centers in all seven provinces of Nepal to increase the efficiency of migrant workers.

The meeting also discussed issues related to guaranteeing social security for workers, safety in the workplace, health and 24-hour insurance, and participation in social security. Qatar, a major labor destination for Nepali foreign workers, has currently given employments to more than 300,000 Nepali workers.

Minister Marri during the meeting said that he was willing to bring Nepali workers to the World Cup to be held in Qatar in 2022.

Secretary at the Ministry Eknarayan Aryal, joint-secretary Rajiv Pokhrel, deputy-secretary Thaneshwar Bhusal and officials of the Nepalese Embassy were present at the meeting while secretary at the Ministry of Labor of Qatar Mohammad Hassan Al Lawadli was also present.