Nepal resumes issuing permits for workers headed to Middle East

Nepal resumes issuing permits for workers headed to Middle East Nepal has resumed issuing permits for its nationals to work in the Middle East, an official said on Tuesday, six weeks after suspending the procedure because of war in the region. About 75 percent of all Nepali workers abroad work in Middle East nations, mainly as labourers at building sites, and experts say remittances from workers make up more than a quarter of the $42-billion economy of the cash-strapped Himalayan nation. Permit resumption "follows advice from the foreign ministry and high demand from workers", Pitambar Ghimire, a labour ministry spokesperson, told Reuters. Nepal requires citizens to secure a work permit from the government in order to take up jobs in a foreign country, but suspended their issue for Gulf countries on 1 March, a day after the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Nepalese migrant workers queue up while waiting to receive the official documents allowing them to work abroad (AFP)