Nepalese community celebrates National Day
July 7 also coincides with the 59th birthday of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.
The Nepalese community is celebrating its National Day.
July 7 also coincides with the 59th birthday of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.
The community has planned a number of events during the week beginning today.
A flag-hoisting ceremony will be held at the Nep-alese Embassy this morning. Attended by embassy staff and community members, the ceremony will also include decorating the king's portrait with garlands to celebrate his birthday.
The flag hoisting and the portrait decoration will be conducted by Charge d'Affaires Madhuban Prasad Paudel at the embassy.
A reception for diplomats, government officials and community members to mark the twin occasions will also be held.
Commenting on UAE-Nepalese relations, Paudel said the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1977 but Nepal opened its embassy here only last year to meet the demands of the fast growing community, while the UAE Embassy in New Delhi includes Nepal. More than 80,000 Nepalese live in the UAE.
The Nepalese diplomat said: "Nepal has opened its mission here in view of the increasing political and economic importance of UAE in the region and the steadily expanding community of Nepalese expatriates here.
"The flow of Nepalese workers in this country is increasing every year by thousands, because of the UAE's goodwill and trust.
"The country's liberal, open and labour-friendly policy has attracted more Nepalese nationals to seek job opportunities here."
The majority of Nepalese workers are in the hospitality industry, security, construction industry and employed in shopping malls and maintenance companies.
In addition to the recent visit by Nepal's king, the country has witnessed three Nepalese ministerial visits since the opening of the embassy.
About tourism, Paudel said it is a potential area in the development of Nepal-UAE relations.
"The Nepal Tourism Board is working to encourage visitors with attractive packages.
"Nepal can become an attractive destination for the local population who normally visit Europe and South East Asian countries during the summer," he said.
The diplomat added that the country also offers a wide range of eco-tourism with its national parks and reserves, where visitors can see a variety of flora and fauna, undertake river rafting, trekking and mountaineering.
There are 22 scheduled flights each week between the UAE and Nepal.
Paudel said Nepal will participate in the forthcoming Dubai Shopping Festival for the first time. The country participated in the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai last year.
Paudel also referred to cash remittances made by community members to Nepal.
He said the UAE Exchange alone s remitted almost Dh200 million to Nepal last year through approximately 10,000 transactions.
