Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal and Romania have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in labor and social protection, opening the labor market in the southeastern European country for Nepali youths.
Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and Romania’s Minister for Labor and Social Solidiaryt Simona Bucura-Oprescu signed the MoU in Bucharest on Friday.
The signing was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the high-level delegations of the two countries. “On the occasion, the two ministers shared views, primarily on the agenda of Nepal-Romania bilateral relations, labor migration, Nepal’s commitment to legal migration, workers’ welfare, dignity, security, and vocational training,” the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin said in a statement.
The two ministers expressed happiness over the growing relations between the two countries in recent years and stated that the signing of the MoU would be the first step in the roadmap toward fair, ethical, and legal migration of Nepali workers to Romania. According to the statement, Minister Bucura-Oprescu assured the Nepali side that the Nepalis working legally in Romania are entitled to equal rights as that of Romanian citizens.
According to Minister Bucura-Oprescu, Romania needs manpower in the fields of construction, services, hospitality, and agriculture. So far, 15,590 Nepalis are employed in Romania which is the second largest among the foreign citizens from non-EU countries in Romania.
Labor Secretary Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Nepal’s non-resident ambassador to Romania Ram Kaji Kahdka, and other officials from the labor ministry were present in the Nepali delegation.
