Nepal, Oman to sign labour agreement soon

 Nepal and Oman ready to sign labour agreement soon.

Nepal’s ambassador to Oman Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal and labour minister of Oman Dr Mahad bin Saeed bin Ali Baouin praised the progress made so far in the labour agreement to be signed between the two countries soon.

Dhakal paying a courtesy call on Dr Mahad – at the latter's office – also congratulated Dr Mahad on his appointment to the post of labour minister of Oman. 

On the occasion, they also expressed commitment to move ahead collaborating with each other in days ahead, according to a press note issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Muscat. “The Omani labour minister shared that Oman is willing to make further collaboration in order to increase the number of Nepali workers there.”

Envoy Dhakal briefed the minister about Oman-related reports submitted by Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Welfare Committee under the House of Representatives after carrying out on-site visits to Gulf countries including Oman in the beginning of 2020.

On the occasion, second secretary at the Nepali Embassy in Oman Somesh Thapa, labour attaché Dinesh Dhakal, and office-bearers of Labour Ministry of Oman were also present.

Nepal seeks review of Gurkha recruitment deal with Britain

As the ex-Gurkha community is pressurising the government, Nepal wants to review a military deal with the Britain.
The deal allowing Nepali citizens to be enlisted in the British army needs to be reviewed before a planned recruitment of Nepali women in the Brigade of Gurkhas – for the first time in two centuries – according to the foreign minister.
According to the British media, the first Gurkha women could begin their training in the British army in 2020, though it is not clear how many Gurkha women Britain plans to enlist. In 2007, Britain announced plans to recruit Gurkha women for its elite force, adding however that issues such as recruitment and selection standards needed to be settled.
Britain has been enlisting Nepali Gurkhas – popularly known for their fierce combat skills – since 1815.
An agreement between New Delhi, London and Kathmandu following India’s independence from colonial rule in 1947 allowed India and Britain to share and recruit Gurkhas but fight for equality by the ex-Gurkha in recent years has made Kathmandu rethink on the deal that – according to the agitating ex-Gurkha – is unfair to the Nepalis as it treats Gurkhas as second class citizens.
Nepal now wants the 72-year-old tripartite deal renegotiated since that accord does not allow Kathmandu to play any role in the recruitment process of Gurkhas by foreign armies, foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said.
The new agreement should also address ex-Gurkha grievances including pensions and other benefits, which retired servicemen say are not at par with their British counterparts, Gyawali added.
Currently, there are about 3,000 Nepalis in the Brigade of Gurkhas.

Nepal and Australia sign air service agreement

Nepal has signed air service agreement (ASA) with Australia to operate direct flight service making it the 40th international country for Nepal having such ASA.
With the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on air service at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) headquarters in Montreal of Canada, Nepali aircraft are allowed to operate flights different destinations of Australia, according to the Tourism Ministry press note.
The air service agreement with Australia was signed by joint secretary at the Tourism Ministry Suresh Acharya and executive director of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Jim Wolfe. “With the signing of agreement, now airline companies of both countries can operate seven flights a week,” according to the agreement. “Nepali airline companies have received permission to fly to four Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth to operate seven flights a week, while flights to airports located in other cities are unlimited.”
Likewise, Australian airline companies can operate seven flights a week to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), whereas they can operate 28 flights a week to other airports – after their completion – like Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara Regional International Airport. Meanwhile, there is no restriction for cargo services. “The pact permits unrestricted cargo movement between the two countries besides third country code share with a provision for domestic code share,” the ministry informed.
The designated airline companies of Nepal can use any two intermediate points in South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East for flight operations, according to the Tourism Ministry, “Likewise, any two points in New Zealand can also be used to operate flights.”
According to the ministry, one of the most important features of the agreement is the ‘principal place of business’ that normally facilitates foreign direct investment (FDI) instead of the traditional ‘principle of airline substantial ownership’ that is currently in practice.
A team led by Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai had departed for ICAO headquarters in Montréal in Canada on September 20 to participate in the ICAO assembly. Nepal has already signed ASAs with a total of 39 countries across the world. However, flights are being operated to a very few destinations, including India, Dubai, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Qatar and Japan. The ASA is expected to support Nepal Airlines Corporation as it has been trying to operate direct flights to Australia since very long.
Currently, NAC, Buddha Air and Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights from and to Nepal.

Nepal plans to sign ASA with Australia, Canada

Nepal and Australia are planning to sign an air service agreement (ASA) at the ongoing 40th session of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal of Canada, permitting domestic code sharing in Nepal and direct flights between the two countries.
Under the domestic code-share agreement, Australian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with Nepali domestic carriers to any point in Nepal, according to Tourism Ministry. The cabinet – last Thursday – had approved the Tourism Ministry's proposal to sign the air service agreement with Australia. “The government is also planning to sign ASA with Canada.”
The Australian government has expressed willingness to permit seven weekly flights to key cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, according to the Tourism Ministry. “But the Australia has proposed providing unlimited flights to other destinations.”
Nepal will also allow seven weekly flights by Australian carriers to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the ministry informed, adding that Australian carriers will be permitted to operate another 28 weekly services to new airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.
Nepal is the third largest source of foreign students to Australia after China and India. Kathmandu is currently Sydney’s largest unserved market globally, with 93,000 people travelling between Nepal’s capital and Australia's largest city annually. But Nepalis are flying via somewhere else. Thus Nepal has been making efforts to sign an ASA with Australia for the last three years. The Tourism Ministry had requested the Australian government to allow 14 weekly flights with any type of aircraft. Sydney-Kathmandu is 5,253 nautical miles or 9,728 kilometres.
Nepal Airlines is also planning to fly to Australia after acquiring two long-range Airbus A330-200s as the current aircraft will not be able to fly non-stop to Australia. “But Nepal Airlines can fly to Australia through a third party code-share agreement,” the Ministry added. “The third party code share is rights granted through a bilateral agreement under which the code is shared between an airline of the bilateral partners and an airline from a country other than the bilateral partner.”
The preferred route between Nepal and Australia is through Guangzhou, China.
The direct flight will also help bring more Australian tourists to Nepal. Nepal received 38,429 Australian visitors last year, up from 33,371 in 2017, according to the data. “In 2014 before the earthquake, some 24,516 Australian tourists visited Nepal.”
Since 1963, Nepal has signed air service agreements with 39 countries, with Cambodia being the latest signatory. On Saturday, tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai and UAE Minister for Economy Bin Saeed Al Mansoori signed the revised ASA on behalf of their respective governments in Canada on the sidelines of the 40th session of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly being held in Montreal.
Nepal and the UAE had signed the ASA in 1999 for the first time.
Likewise, the government is also in the process of negotiating with the Thai government to revise the old ASA, which was signed in 1971 to operate daily flights to Thailand.