Officials from Malaysia and Nepal have met up today at a two-day Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in Kuala Kumpur, Malaysia. The discussion is expected to be the issuing of work permits to Nepali workers in Malaysia. Government officials from both countries have explained what they make up of the deal in the meeting. 

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), Narayan Regmi explained, ‘We are hoping that the meeting will facilitate and pave the way to give momentum to the stalled process of labour supply to Malaysia.’ These meetings are set to finalise the agreements that were discussed earlier, in October, that contained a few technical problems. 

In addition, both parties will examine the relationship so far and discuss the modality of the jobs offered in Malaysia. Regmi said, ‘The challenges in implementation of the pact would be resolved during the meeting.’ The Nepal team is being led by Ram Prasad Ghimire, who is acting as the head of Labour Relation and Social Protection Section at MoLESS.  

Around 2 months ago, Malaysian Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran met with Nepal officials in Geneva at the International Labour Conference and talked about what was yet to be agreed to as for the implementation of the deal.