Muscat - The Nepal government has appointed a five-member team for its upcoming embassy in the capital by the end of this year.
Jhabindra Aryal has been appointed as chargé d'affaires. Aryal has been part of Nepal's diplomatic missions in Brussels, Riyadh and London.
The team includes the first and second secretary and a labour attaché.
Aryal said, "I am looking forward to my Oman visit. We hope to build on existing ties with the sultanate. We will look into all labour-related issues and get more skilled workers from Nepal."
The team will visit Oman next month to scout for a building which will house the embassy.
D B Chettri, president of Non-Resident Nepali Association, said, "We are extremely happy that the embassy will finally open in the coming months. The appointment of a five-member team is a step in the right direction. Aryal has an impressive track record of managing Nepal's missions in Brussels, Riyadh and London."
Chettri added that NRNA had pushed the case for an embassy in the sultanate for many years. "With the opening of embassy, more than 40,000 Nepalese in Oman will benefit a lot. At present, all attestation and paperwork of Nepali workers in the sultanate is carried out at our mission in Saudi Arabia, which costs a lot of money. It is also a time-consuming process. Due to the absence of an embassy, it is NRNA which takes the lead in solving issues related to workers."
Nepal announced opening an embassy in Oman in February this year, as well as in other locations in GCC, as the country looks to expand its existing network of diplomatic missions around the world.
In addition to Oman, an embassy will be established in Bahrain, and another consulate is to open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
© Muscat Daily 2013
