With authorities of both Nepal and Saudi Arabia deciding to agree on basic principles of the draft, a labour agreement is likely to be reached between both the countries.

In a meeting held in Saudi Arabia, a technical team led by secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment Ram Kumar Acharya and Saudi Arabian officials decided to agree on all types of labour including domestic work, opening the door for the agreement.

Nepal has been asking Saudi Arabia to reach an agreement on all types of labours, while Saudi Arabia was adamant on reaching an agreement only on domestic labourers.

Acting Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ananda Prasad Sharma said that all preparations including finalising the draft had been completed for reaching the agreement.

“We [officials of both the countries] agreed on some principles of the draft. But some differences have surfaced and they will be cleared up and the agreement would be signed soon,” he said.

In the meeting, some issues ranging from the salary and facilities of Nepali migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and their welfare among others were discussed, a Nepali official partaking in the meeting said.

The Nepali team, including joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ramesh Prasad Khanal and joint secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment Gobinda Mani Bhurtel, have returned home after completing its task. RSS