Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki voiced acute distress over the plight of 357,913 Nepalis in Qatar amid US-Iran clashes, prompting a pivotal Thursday dialogue with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. As retaliatory fire damages Gulf infrastructure, Kathmandu seeks ironclad protections for its vast expatriate workforce.
This community, chiefly laborers, makes Qatar the third-top destination after UAE and Saudi Arabia, within a regional total exceeding 1.7 million. Civilian impacts from joint strikes and Iranian ripostes have ignited panic.
Per the Secretariat’s communique, Karki profusely thanked Qatar for its stewardship: ‘Relief washes over me knowing they’re safe and tended.’ She noted Qatar’s vulnerabilities, spotlighting strikes on US holdings like its massive military outpost.
Tracking every twist in West Asia, Karki implored restraint, de-intensification, and civilian primacy. Upholding UN tenets, international jurisprudence, Geneva safeguards, and humane doctrines, she affirmed diplomacy’s monopoly on true peace.
Empathy peaked as Karki decried hits on Qatar’s civilian sovereign spaces. Bilateral futures shone bright: high-stakes trips, commerce amplification, heritage fusion, citizen camaraderie.
Al-Thani extolled ties, saluted Nepali toil, and vowed matched safeguards. Calling events tragic, he framed Qatar’s responses as sovereignty shields, ever wedded to pacification.