In an interaction jointly organised by the Canterbury Nepalese Society (CNS) and Overseas Nepalese Forum, senior leader and former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist - UML), Madhav Kumar Nepal, assured the Nepalese expatriates that their concerns of New Zealand not hosting a Nepalese Embassy will be addressed soon.
“As the numbers of Nepalese shifting to New Zealand is increasing, the need to have our embassy here is rightfully felt. I will make sure that the present Nepalese Government is cognizant of your concerns,” Mr Nepal noted in his address. Right now, the Nepalese Embassy in Canberra, Australia, provides all consular services to people living in New Zealand.
Other notable mention in his speech was the issue of dual citizenship. While the new Nepalese constitution has incorporated provisions of allowing dual citizenship to overseas Nepalese, it is yet to be implemented.
On this, Bishnu Pokhrel, President of CNS, said, “We discussed with the leader our desire to get the dual citizenship provisions implemented as soon as possible. Making remittance easier and encouraging investments in Nepal by overseas Nepalese by reducing barriers was also put to him. He kindly agreed to look into these concerns as well.”
Nepal is currently governed by the political coalition of United Democratic Madhesi Front, and Mr Madhav Kumar's UML sits in the opposition.