Saudi Arabia has sent a team of officials to Nepal to set up an embassy in the capital city of Katmandu. “The Saudi side, which has already taken an office building to start the embassy operations and consular services, sent an official communication to the Nepalese government in this regard about three months back,” said Udaya Raj Pandey, Nepal's ambassador to the Kingdom, here yesterday.
“The move on the part of the Saudi government comes in response to the request made by Nepal to open a diplomatic mission, as many Nepalese migrant workers face problems for visas and other permits,” said Pandey.
About 600,000 Nepalese migrants including 70,000 women currently work in the Kingdom, said the envoy, adding that once the Saudi embassy starts functioning in Nepal, it will help Riyadh and Katmandu to deal with problems faced by the workers more effectively.
Pandey, who gave an overview of the progressively growing Saudi-Nepalese relations in different sectors, pointed out that Saudi Arabia had earlier sent a seven-member delegation to Nepal on April 7. The Saudi delegation at that time finished its detailed study and prepared a plan to set up the Saudi Embassy in the South Asian country, he added. He said Nepal opened its diplomatic mission in Riyadh more than 34 years ago.
He said the opening of the embassy would also help Muslims in Nepal to perform Umrah and Haj because they will no longer be required to travel to India or Bangladesh or any other country for Umrah and Haj visas. Nepal, a landlocked democratic nation in South Asia, has a population of about 28 million. About five percent of the Nepalese population is Muslim.
Asked about the new developments on bilateral level, Pandey said that he, on behalf of the Nepalese government, would confer the “Maha Ujjwal Rashtradeep Award” on Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, on Saturday. The Nepalese government decided to confer the prestigious award on Prince Alwaleed when the prince visited that country a couple of years back. Prince Alwaleed will be the first foreign dignitary to receive the country’s biggest honor after Nepal became a republic in 2008.
Asked about the plans of the Nepalese government to allow deployment of housemaids in the Kingdom, he said that Katmandu was working closely with the Saudi side in this regard.
Saudi Arabia to open its embassy in Nepal soon
