KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has directed the concerned bodies to take immediate actions to curb the prevailing anomalies in the foreign employment sector.

In a meeting held on Monday with officials from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Department of Foreign Employment, the Prime Minister stressed the need to protect Nepali migrant workers from suffering, exploitation, and situations that require emergency rescue.

According to the Prime Minister’s secretariat, she issued instructions for the prompt rescue of Nepali women stranded in Kuwait. The meeting also reviewed various labour-related issues.

The Prime Minister urged the government not to prioritize the interests of foreign employment agencies while formulating relevant policies. Instead, she emphasized that the safety and well-being of Nepali citizens seeking foreign employment should be the foremost concern.

“Let us not work merely to serve the interests of manpower agencies. Let us ensure they are made responsible for safeguarding migrant workers and preventing them from being pushed to risky or vulnerable situations,” she stated.

Prime Minister Karki also reminded government officials to strictly enforce the requirements mandating that all foreign employment aspirants learn the language and understand the job nature of the destination country before departing.

“Migrant workers must acquire language skills, understand their job responsibilities, and receive proper training. If the state collects taxes for permitting foreign employment, it must ensure full immigration security in return,” she added.

She further called for strict action against the agents who lure innocent people from rural areas into unsafe foreign employment, as well as manpower agencies in urban centers that take advantage of such people.

Law Minister Anil Kumar Sinha, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel, Chief Secretary Suman Raj Aryal, Prime Minister’s Office secretaries Raj Kumar Shrestha and Gobinda Bahadur Karki, Labour Ministry Secretary Krishnahari Pushkar, Foreign Ministry Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, and Law Ministry Secretary Parashwor Dhungana were present in the meeting.