London: The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) in Saudi Arabia has demanded the establishment of a permanent liaison office with diplomatic staff in the eastern region, which shares borders with Iraq and Kuwait in the west and Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman in the southeast.

NRNA General Secretary Shukra Moktan, through a letter on Monday, urged Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba to establish a permanent consulate or liaison office in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, with at least one diplomatic staff member.

The letter mentions that the eastern province, which has the third largest population density after the Riyadh and Mecca provinces, is also geographically vast. This province shares borders with Iraq and Kuwait in the west, and Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman in the east and southeast.

It is stated that around 150,000 Nepali migrant workers, who have come to Saudi Arabia as a labor destination, are employed in this eastern province.

The letter further mentions that due to the presence of mineral extraction and processing centers, industrial institutions, and ports in the area, a large number of Nepali workers are employed here. Consequently, labor-related issues are proportionally higher in this region.

There is a request for the establishment of a consulate in this region to address the significant labor issues.

The letter also highlights that if any worker in the area encounters a problem, they either have to visit the embassy or rely on local liaison officers. However, due to the high number of labor issues, local liaison officers are often busy, causing delays in resolving workers’ problems.

Furthermore, workers in the area not only face labor issues but also have to travel long distances to the embassy for document verification, spending hours on the journey.

The letter points out that workers have to spend thousands on traveling to the embassy for revenue payments as well. Considering the increasing number of various types of labor issues, the NRNA National Coordination Council in Saudi Arabia has demanded the establishment of a permanent consulate or liaison office in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia with at least one diplomatic staff member.