South Asian News Network

Kathmandu, July 15: The Foreign Ministry has shared its one-year achievements and works, claiming new dimensions in diplomatic relations. Since Dr Arzu Rana Deuba took charge as Foreign Minister in the current coalition government formed on July 15, 2024, new dimensions have been added to Nepal’s diplomatic relations, and her diplomatic engagements have further strengthened the foreign policy. In the past one year, the Ministry has taken significant initiatives to advance Nepal’s foreign relations. In addition to participating in various international forums and bilateral and multilateral meetings, Dr Rana has been advocating for Nepal’s national agendas and interests, according to the Ministry. High-level visits and diplomatic engagements Dr Rana began her term with an official visit to India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister of India Dr S Jaishankar. During the visit, she met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 19, 2024 and held talks with her Indian counterpart Jaishankar. The meetings touched on various issues of Nepal-India relations, and agreements were reached on trade and transit, energy, connectivity, investment, additional air routes from India to Nepal, floods and inundation, Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, and border infrastructure. Both sides agreed to continue cooperation and engagement at various levels, including regular bilateral mechanisms. Dr Rana and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar held bilateral meetings in Muscat, Oman on February 16, 2025 and in New Delhi on March 18, 2025. Dr Rana accompanied Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on an official visit to China, where Nepal signed the long-awaited BRI agreement. During the visit, she held bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. The Foreign Minister held meetings with her counterparts, ministers and leaders from Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Indonesia, Oman, Qatar, Israel, Philippines, Iran, and Mexico. She demonstrated well her diplomatic skills through her successful participation in the 79th UN General Assembly, the meeting of G77, the G20 summit, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, the third ACD Summit in Doha, the sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, the Women Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Canada, the 81st session of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok, the 58th High-Level Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. Ministry’s restructuring The dimensions and scope of diplomacy of Nepal are being expanded globally. Five years ago, the number of Nepali living abroad has increased from a few to tens of thousands. But the Ministry is struggling to expand its services, including passports, to keep up with the growing number of Nepalis abroad due to various reasons like limited manpower. Additionally, it lacks exact data on the Nepalis living abroad, leading to difficulties in resolving their problems or rescuing them when they are in trouble. Therefore, an organisation and management (O&M) survey has been conducted in the ministry, realising its need. “Nepalis abroad have complained that they lack prompt access to passport and consular services. For example, there are currently at least 70,000 Nepalis in California, USA, and over 100,000 in Texas. They have to go to New York or Washington, D.C. to get consular services, compounding their difficulties. To address these difficulties, consulates general have been established in Dallas, San Francisco and Dubai in the UAE, following an O&M survey in the ministry,” the Ministry statement read. As per need, a mobile service has also been launched in some countries to serve Nepalis. In order to provide services in the Middle East and other countries where there is a high flow of Nepalis, and expand the effectiveness of Nepal’s diplomatic service, staffing has been strengthened in key missions. Sagarmatha Sambaad Nepal organised the first edition of Sagarmatha Sambaad in May this year. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sambaad serves as a global dialogue platform, aimed at discussing issues of regional and global importance related to climate change. The dialogue brought together experts, policymakers, representatives from over 20 countries, including neighbouring India and China, and over 50 international organisations, discussing pressing issues on climate change. It dwelt on wide-ranging issues of Mountain put forward by Nepal. The participants expressed their commitment to supporting and cooperating with this agenda and principles put forward by Nepal in the coming days. The event concluded with the adoption of a 25-point action plan. The event can be measured as a diplomatic success for Nepal. Economic diplomacy and LDC graduation strategy The impact of the global economic recession that began after the COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war is still in effect. The Foreign Ministry has established a separate Economic Diplomacy Division in an effort to make the country’s economy dynamic through economic diplomacy. Currently, the division is engaged in attracting foreign investors to Nepal, promoting and expanding the Nepali market in the world market through diplomacy, and promoting export trade. In the context that the country is struggling to attract direct foreign investment as expected and exports fail to replace imports, economic diplomacy can be instrumental in bridging this gap. The division has planned to connect non-resident Nepalis, and explore their potential and bring in their knowledge, skills and capital for the development of Nepal. Established on the initiatives of Dr Rana, the division aims to adopt a policy to utilise labour, energy, tourism, adventure sports in the interest of Nepal through economic diplomacy. Dr Rana has directed all Nepali missions abroad to remain active in promoting trade, foreign investment, tourism and technology through economic diplomacy. The division has collected necessary suggestions through seminars with stakeholders. As Nepal is set to graduate from a Least Developed Country by 2026, the ministry works to formulate necessary strategy in coordination with development partners and other stakeholders to make the process smooth and sustainable. In addition, Dr Rana has been advocating for continued support from the international community in this regard. Advocacy for climate justice Dr Rana represented Nepal at the International Court of Justice in The Hague last month and drew global attention to the problems faced by Nepal due to climate change, demanding climate justice for the nation. She claimed that Nepal should receive compensation as one of the most vulnerable countries. Since then, Nepal has taken climate diplomacy as a separate priority issue. During her visit to Europe, she engaged in bilateral meetings with European Union leaders, European foreign ministers, and leaders, advocating for climate justice for Nepal. She also urged the removal of the European Union’s aviation safety ban on Nepali airlines. Initiatives for the release of Bipin Joshi Upon being appointed as the minister, Dr Rana’s first priority was to secure the safe release of Bipin Joshi believed to be held captive by Hamas. During her bilateral meetings with foreign diplomats, she urged her counterparts, ambassadors and officials of various countries to help secure his safe release. Addressing the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last October, she requested the participating representatives to take initiatives for Joshi’s release. She made the same appeal during her address to the Third Summit of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Doha and bilateral meetings during the Eighth Indian Ocean Conference held in Muscat. Dr Rana urged the foreign ministers of Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Iran to take initiatives for Joshi’s freedom. Since Qatar and Egypt are mediating for peace talks between the Israeli government and Hamas. Rescue efforts and support for Nepali diaspora Moreover, Nepali students were in trouble after the protests in Bangladesh last July. Following this, the government of Nepal launched a search and rescue effort to ensure their safety. But the Ministry had difficulties in collecting their data as some of them departed without completing required process. News flooded social media and News media, blaming the Ministry for failure to rescue them earliest. But the Nepali embassy in Dhaka had a different story to tell. It lacked sufficient manpower for rescue efforts, the Ministry argued. However, under the Ministry’s leadership, the Nepali embassy in Dhaka was fully mobilised, establishing a help desk for rescue efforts. The problem was resolved through diplomatic efforts. Similarly, a few months ago, Nepali students in Odisha, India, faced trouble following the mysterious death of a Nepali student at KIIT University. Following this, Dr Rana immediately asked the Nepali ambassador in New Delhi to understand and ensure security of Nepali students there. Two security personnel were deployed. She separately spoke to the Higher Education Minister in Odisha State and the Chief Minister on the phone, urging them to take strict action against the culprits and to make arrangements for the safety of Nepali students in the university. Following this, the college assured safety of Nepali students while dismissing those university employees who were found involved in mistreating Nepali students. Later, the college reinstated those Nepali students who returned to Nepal. The ministry has been giving priority to the rescue and assistance of the Nepali diaspora and it continues to work to ensure the Nepali diaspora get consular services regularly. In some countries, consular services are also being provided through a mobile service. UN’s help sought Nepal has fielded candidacies for key positions in international bodies, especially for membership in the UN Human Rights Council (2027 to 2029), the Economic and Social Council (2029 to 2031) and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2037 to 2038). Addressing the 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last February, Dr Rana sought votes from all member states of the United Nations. She also sought help from foreign ministers, leaders and international organisations of various countries. During the address, she expressed Nepal’s firm commitment to human rights, peace and democracy. Meanwhile, Dr Rana has continued to make efforts to further strengthen and expand Nepal’s diplomatic relations while keeping in mind the country’s interests and national concerns. Security and rescue efforts for Nepalis during Israel-Iran conflict During the recent Israel-Iran conflict, the ministry accorded high priority to the security of Nepali citizens. The ministry called on both sides to resolve the problem through dialogue. It also issued a travel advisory, instructing Nepali citizens in Israel and Iran to adopt maximum vigilance from a security perspective, and Nepali ambassadors in the respective countries to coordinate for the security of Nepali citizens. The Ministry directed all Nepali missions in the Gulf to facilitate visa processing and coordinate safe passage for Nepalis wanting to travel to safe places or border countries when some air routes were currently closed. More than 600 people had registered their details through the Ministry’s online portal for repatriation. Following the request to the Indian government, 11 of 16 Nepalis returned to Nepal with the help of the Indian Embassy in Iran, and the process for the release of the remaining five people in Iranian prisons began. A rapid response team was formed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the concerned agencies for the safety, speedy rescue and repatriation of Nepalis in these countries. Rescue flights were also prepared for those in Israel who wanted to return to Nepal. However, this process has now halted after the ceasefire. ‘Shram Sansar App’ launched The ‘Shram Sansar App’, a digital platform designed, aimed at collecting information and details of Nepalis living and working abroad. Dr Rana and Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharad Singh Bhandari jointly launched the app amid an event at the Ministry. Once registered, users of the app will help the Nepali missions in the destination countries and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labour get real-time information about the status, locations and needs of the Nepalis in foreign lands. The app will also help provide consular service and enable prompt rescue and help in emergency situations. The app is expected to be instrumental in addressing problems facing Nepalis abroad. In addition, the app is believed to help those who have reached the destination country without a work permit obtain a ‘legalised labour permit’ by issuing a work permit from the Nepali embassy in the relevant country. Earlier, in order to understand and address problems faced by Nepalis in labour destination countries, a task force has been formed under the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the involvement of the Ministries of Labour, Home, Law and Health. Archiving service for consolidating ‘Institutional Memory’ The process of creating an ‘archiving system’ and establishing an e-library has begun to enhance the preservation and accessibility of institutional memory. This initiative aims to systematically store and manage data relating to bilateral or multilateral meetings or discussions and agreements with various countries, organisations and parties conducted by the Ministry. Once operational, the archiving system is expected to be instrumental in the management, security and preservation of necessary documents. Understaffing a significant challenge Despite notable progress, the Ministry continues to deal with several critical challenges. One of the primary issues is the difficulty in timely and effective promotion of Nepal’s foreign policy. Additionally, the lack of accurate and up-to-date data on Nepalis living and working abroad creates a significant challenge—particularly in times of crisis when rescue and support operations are required. Understaffing at Nepali missions abroad is another major challenge. Many missions operate with limited workforce and inadequate infrastructure, affecting their ability to deliver essential consular services and maintain close engagement with the Nepali diaspora. Moreover, there is a need to enhance the training, skills, and capacity of diplomatic staff to meet the standards and demands of working in advanced and complex international environments. Consolidating institutional capacity and investing in the professional development of foreign service manpower is essential for advancing Nepal’s diplomatic effectiveness globally.