When major crises occur abroad, such as the recent conflict in West Asia or the Hamas attacks in Israel in October 2023, the Nepali government’s response has often been slow or inadequate.

Hundreds of thousands of Nepali citizens work and live abroad, with a significant number residing in Gulf countries. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, roughly 1.7 to 2 million Nepalis live and work in the Middle East, including the Gulf nations, Israel, and surrounding areas.

The crisis escalated after a joint US-Israel operation against Iran on February 28. At that time, Nepal was in the process of conducting elections to the House of Representatives. In the March 5 elections, the Rastriya Swatantra Party secured nearly a two-thirds majority. However, as the process of forming the new government got underway, it had to confront the unfolding crisis in West Asia. On March 27, Prime Minister Balendra Shah formed his cabinet and simultaneously unveiled a 100-point roadmap aimed at improving governance, public service delivery, and addressing pressing citizen issues.

Even before the new government took office, the outgoing Sushila Karki administration had begun groundwork to assist Nepalis in the Gulf. The Karki government launched an online registration platform for citizens seeking to return, set up an emergency response committee headed by the foreign secretary, facilitated repatriation, temporarily suspended the issuance of no-objection letters for Gulf-bound workers, and explored other evacuation options.

As part of the 100-point roadmap, the Shah administration emphasised crisis preparedness. Point 95 of the roadmap calls for the formation of an inter-ministerial task force to assess the impact of regional and international crises. Based on the task force’s findings, the government will develop policies and strategies for timely response.

An eight-member task force led by Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and comprising secretaries from various ministries, has already submitted its report to the Prime Minister’s Office. The panel assessed the immediate impact of the West Asian war and prepared a long-term plan and strategy to address similar crises in the future.

“The report outlines the strategies and institutional mechanisms Nepal should adopt to respond effectively during crises,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Poudel Chettri.

“The report has also suggested charting out for short-, medium-, and long-term strategies so that Nepalis caught in difficulties abroad can be brought back swiftly,” said Chettri.

A permanent national level coordination committee has been proposed by the panel, to be headed either by the prime minister or the foreign minister.

The report also suggested the government form different kinds of temporary and long-term institutions to review and assess the situation, make recommendations to the government, and coordinate with different state organs during times of crisis. During crises, logistical issues such as bringing Nepali citizens from abroad, activating missions, arranging dedicated flights and ships, among others, are also mentioned in the report.

Evacuating by air and sea involves major logistical challenges. When the West Asia crisis began, the government had formed a committee headed by Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai to assess the mounting logistical challenges of bringing back Nepali citizens.

“One ship can carry 7,000 people on a trip, either to Mumbai or Kolkata. From there, we need to bring them to Nepal. It will be costly,” an official and member of the Khanal-led task force said. “As per our estimate, it will require at least Rs 1 billion to bring back 5,000 people.” “During peak evacuation, fares could rise 200 to 500 percent due to high demand,” the official told the Post. “We need at least 1,000 ships to evacuate Nepalis living in the UAE. It will not be easy.”

The report therefore suggests that a lack of enough planes in the country would affect rescue operations, the official said.

The report also studied the recent impacts of crises in Central and West Asian countries, particularly their effects on global migration, cross-border trade, labour mobility, natural disasters, energy issues, and other related areas affecting Nepal.

As per the suggestions and recommendations of the report, the government will move forward with implementation and decision-making process, a member of the taskforce told the Post.

It is estimated that over four million Nepali nationals are currently living and working in countries other than India. In the Persian Gulf region alone, over two million Nepalis are living and working, as per government records, while half-a-million more are not included in official data. Likewise, as many as 1.5 million Nepali nationals live outside India and the Gulf region.