Kathmandu. Being a foreigner is a compulsion for many. In the absence of employment and income opportunities in the country, it is more compulsion than the desire to go abroad. But for some, especially the middle and wealthy, going abroad seems more like a luxury or a fashion than a compulsion.

There are also many people who go abroad without taking care of the businesses done by their parents in the country. In particular, the so-called developed countries have gone to many European countries, including Australia, America, Britain, Canada. Some have gone with the intention of earning in the name of quality education, while some have gone with the pretext of studying. There have been a lot of people who go like that. According to the latest statistics of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there are 1,97,800 Nepalis in Australia. And, the Nepali community is now the 8th largest group among the immigrant communities in Australia.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are about 3 lakh Nepalese living in the United States of America (2025). But since the census is conducted every 10 years, that number may have increased. It is estimated that more than 1 lakh Nepalis live in the UK. Numerous Nepalis live in Canada and other European countries. According to government statistics, there are 19 lakh Nepalis working in the Middle East and Gulf countries. In the last one month, the US-Israel and Iran conflict has led to attacks in 11 Gulf countries. Iran has closed the border point of the State of Hormuz, the world’s main oil exporter, which has caused fuel shortages in countries around the world. As a result, tourism has started to slow down and the price of consumer goods has increased worldwide. Many Nepalis working in the Gulf have already started losing their jobs.

Nepalis are not only in the Gulf countries but also in more than 170 countries of the world including India, China, Japan and Korea. The NRNA network has expanded to more than 87 countries where Nepalis have reached. In 110 countries, the government of Nepal has opened the door for foreign employment. The Nepal government does not even have official data on the number of Nepalis scattered around the world. According to informal studies, there are about 90 lakh Nepalis abroad in terms of employment and migration. That’s not a small number. According to the 2011 census, the total population of Nepal is 2,91,64,578. Out of which around 90 lakh Nepalis are living abroad, the pros and cons of working age Nepalis going abroad are different. There is no debate on how much benefit and disadvantage it will be to the national life if 30-35 percent of the people of a country are out of the country in some form or the other.

Some say that opportunities should be created by themselves, not by looking to the state. That’s okay in a way. How can the state provide employment to all? The government has not been able to provide for the existing employees properly. But basically, the government should create an environment where the youth are employed rather than employing them. For this, the state should create an environment for employment and entrepreneurship by taking the private sector into confidence. As a result, millions of jobs will be created. At present, the state itself has not created 3-4,000 new jobs annually. Every year, about 5 lakh young people enter the labor market. Their management is the biggest headache today.

Those who have gone abroad to study are not those who do not have money. Those going to Europe, America and Australia spend at least Rs 20 lakh per person. If they want to make an enterprise in the country, they can start it with their own money. According to Nepal Rastra Bank, Rs 138.48 billion was borrowed from Nepal for foreign studies in the last fiscal year 2018/82. It’s not a small amount. The present government should be able to stop that amount of money going abroad in the name of such studies. For this, apart from free scholarships, you should be able to control going abroad to study in expensive dollars. And, the money that goes out should go towards entrepreneurship and business promotion, strategies and policy incentives. When no one likes to live in this country and the country does not attract them, the country will never be built. The country should be loved by our younger generation, even by the newcomer Genji generation, and it should change itself.

In today’s modern era, there are two ways to be a citizen of a prosperous country, one is to become a citizen of another or a rich country, whether it is by buying it or by other options. The other is to build your own country and live a prosperous life. What a capable and patriotic youth can do is to make his country prosperous at all costs. And to be a citizen of a prosperous country.

Now, the new party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has a smart government led by the youth with a two-thirds majority. He can make quick decisions about some good things. Those who are educated, those who have made progress in many dimensions from abroad, who have seen and experienced foreign development and systems, are in the government. He is an engineer prime minister and an internationally known economist is the finance minister. 90 lakh Nepalis living in the Diaspora have a big hand in bringing them to this place. They used social media to create an atmosphere in favor of the newcomers. He had communicated to the house to win the new one. Now the same people should return to their homeland to build the country. That’s the expectation and anticipation now. If this country is to be built, then this is a golden opportunity for Nepalese who have gone abroad to return home. Let them return with the wealth, skills and Nepali hearts they have earned abroad. Only then will the country be built.

The development of the motherland does not happen by living abroad and looking at the stakes and risks. Because no matter what is said, capital, technology and skills are needed to build a country. Nepalis living abroad have it. They have to come back with that and love the country. For this, the new government under the leadership of Balen should call on those living abroad to return to Nepal with investment or make big investments in Nepal. It is necessary to attract investment in Nepal at the international level. For this, the government should amend the necessary laws and make new constructions. Only then will the country be built. Our neighbors China and India are also prospering on the basis of capital and technology brought by foreigners. Whether it’s Singapore or Switzerland or South Korea, there is a history of foreigners returning to their own country. So let’s not delay now. If we trust the new government, the Balen-Rabi-Swarnim-led government, then we should return home. It is not a big deal to see the development of foreigners, to earn money there secretly, to enjoy the prosperity there. Instead, it is great to dig hay in the country and contribute at least a small amount to the country’s economy and production.

In the end, this is the right time for the Nepalis who have left the country to return with their families. Nepal has developed at the basic level in education, health, transport, communication, electricity, etc. Those living abroad should now adopt the strategy of making the country rich, modernizing and facilitating development, creating employment and income generation conditions in the country by promoting entrepreneurship and living with dignity and dignity in their own country. The Balen government needs to address policy and create an environment for that. It should be invoked.

-Rishab Gautam (Gautam is an economic writer and analyst). )