Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has stated that the draft bill concerning non-resident Nepalese (NRN) will be presented to Parliament only after extensive consultations with concerned stakeholders. The Association of Nepalis in the Origin (ANO) has drawn the minister’s attention to several impractical provisions in the proposed bill. Minister Khanal declared the currently released draft as a “zero draft” and clarified that all views and suggestions will be sought before submission to Parliament. Kathmandu, 14 Jestha.
During a meeting at the Ministry today with a delegation led by ANO Central Committee Vice President and Senior Advocate Sushil Kumar Pant, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal reiterated that there will be comprehensive discussions with all relevant parties on the draft bill recently made public for consultation. He described the current draft as essentially a ‘zero draft’ and emphasized that it will only be taken to Parliament after thorough deliberations with all stakeholders.
ANO raised concerns that many points in the public draft are impractical and insufficient to effectively connect overseas Nepalese with Nepal. Receiving the memorandum of concerns, Minister Khanal mentioned that he has prepared a questionnaire on this bill and assured that prior to parliamentary submission, opinions from all concerned will be collected.
On this occasion, Vice President Pant expressed the view that the proposed law should effectively link the Nepali identity and heart to Nepal as a long-term bridge. The memorandum highlighted the need to amend definitions related to persons of Nepali origin and called for broad discussions and revisions in the draft to appropriately address Nepalese living abroad both within and beyond three generations. The delegation included ANO General Secretary Chudamani Bhattarai, Board of Trustee member Babukrishna Karki, and ANO Nepal President Krishnaprasad Sapkota among others.
