Kathmandu, March 2
More than 1.729 million Nepalis are currently residing in Middle Eastern (Gulf) countries.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of 1,729,288 Nepalis are in Middle Eastern countries. The ministry has made public the exact number of Nepalis who have gone to those countries for foreign employment, study, and other purposes.
Ram Kaji Khadka, Joint Secretary at the Ministry’s Division for Central Asia, West Asia, and Africa, said that there are currently six Nepalis in Iran.
On Saturday, Israel and the United States carried out airstrikes on Iran. International media reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attack.
Following his assassination, Iran has been launching attacks on U.S. military base camps in Gulf countries. As a result, concerns have been raised regarding the safety of Nepalis residing in those countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided details about the exact number of Nepalis in those countries during a press conference held today. Joint Secretary Khadka stated that the figure includes Nepalis living in Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt.
He said the data was obtained in written form from Nepali embassies in the Middle East. The figures were provided through official government channels and may not include Nepalis staying there illegally.
“Among them, some may also be residing illegally, because after initial data entry upon arrival, their status may later have become irregular,” he said. “Therefore, since this data has been received from official government sources, it should be understood as the number of Nepali citizens residing legally.”
He added that all Nepalis are currently safe and that the ministry is maintaining continuous communication with all 10 missions in the region.
According to him, those missions are monitoring the situation, issuing travel advisories as necessary, and coordinating with Nepali nationals based on the prevailing circumstances.
