Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ announced?that his government will make necessary arrangements to grant voting rights to Nepali citizens living abroad.

Over 6,50,000 Nepalis have migrated overseas in 2021 seeking employment, the country’s Department of Foreign Employment said.

“Arrangements will be made to allow Nepalis living abroad to cast their votes,” Prime Minister Prachanda said as he addressed a virtual event of the CPN (Maoist Centre) Migration Coordination Committee on Friday.

Prachanda said lakhs of migrant Nepalis will benefit from this move and will exercise their franchise, My Republica newspaper reported.

The Prime Minister said remittances sent by Nepalis living abroad have boosted the country’s foreign exchange reserves. According to Nepal government estimates, remittances account for about a quarter of the country’s national income. Over the past few years, migration and remittances have played a significant role in the socioeconomic development of Nepal.

In 2021, Nepal received NPR 961.05 billion as remittances, constituting over 22 per cent of the country’s GDP.

"The fact that the remittances received from foreign nationals have reached the level of 11 months of foreign exchange reserves is itself a sign of economic improvement,” he added.

Nepal’s gross foreign exchange reserves shot up by an impressive 10 per cent to touch USD 10.50 billion in mid-February, boosted mainly by remittances from abroad, Nepal’s central bank said last month.

(With PTI inputs)