Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba has said that taking the current conflict between Israel and Iran and its potential impact seriously, she is working on the safety of Nepalis in those areas as a priority.

Answering a question raised by the parliamentarians during the discussion under the Appropriation Bill at the House of Representatives meeting on Monday, she said, 'The Ministry has issued travel information with detailed contact details on June 15 and requested the Nepalis who are currently in Israel and Iran to exercise maximum vigilance from a security point of view.'

Minister Rana said that Nepali ambassadors in countries with rich relations have been instructed to coordinate for the safety of Nepali citizens. Mentioning that an 'online portal' was opened on June 17 to collect the details of Nepalis, she informed that 885 people have registered details on the portal so far and the process of registering details is increasing.

Minister Rana said, 'On the 18th of June, all the Nepali Missions in the Gulf have been instructed to facilitate the provision of online visas to Nepalis who want to go to safe places or border countries while the air routes are currently closed in those countries.'

In this context, the Jordanian government wrote a note on June 19, 2025 and mentioned the need to provide necessary assistance to foreign citizens coming to its borders from Israel. Also, she informed that the Nepali Embassy has corresponded with the ILO and IOM to facilitate this matter 

Minister Rana informed that the process of returning 11 people to Nepal with the help of the Indian Embassy in Iran has been started after the Indian government was requested to rescue 16 Nepalis in Iran. As the remaining five are detained due to immigration laws, the Ministry is taking initiatives through the Nepali Embassy, ​​Doha to complete the paperwork process and return them to their country. In addition, she said that through coordination with the relevant agencies and the formation of a rapid hearing group, initiatives are being taken to quickly rescue and repatriate from Israel and Iran.

Minister Rana said that the government of Nepal has been continuing bilateral and multilateral diplomatic initiatives at the highest level since the beginning for the release of Bipin Joshi. In this regard, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli appealed to the President of Egypt via telephone. Likewise, Speaker Devraj Ghimire wrote a letter requesting the Speaker of the Arab Parliament. Minister Rana had written a request to the Foreign Ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Turkey and Iran.

Likewise, she informed that she had met with the foreign minister of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and the counterpart of Iran at the Indian Ocean Conference held in Oman. Minister Rana said that bilateral high-level talks and resolution initiatives through established mechanisms are continuing with regard to border-related issues and there is constant coordination with the concerned agencies. She said, "Regarding the rescue of Nepalese prisoners in India, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi has rescued 36 Nepalis so far with the help of the Uttarakhand Police and 'Kin India' social organization. Uttarakhand police have arrested and investigated some people related to the incident and the search for possible more Nepalis is continuing.'

He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with priority in terms of using the knowledge, skills and capital of non-resident Nepalis in the development of Nepal and connecting them with the private sector and government agencies. She informed that since it has been agreed to provide insufficient amount from the Foreign Employment Board to bring the body of Ravi Mahato Suri, who died in a road accident in Croatia on 31 May, the embassy has taken the necessary steps to bring the body to Nepal as soon as possible.

Minister Rana said that the ministry is making economic diplomacy a major basis of foreign policy and making foreign missions active in trade, foreign investment, tourism and technology promotion. He said that the Ministry has made economic diplomacy a high priority and has given a clear mandate to all the missions for its promotion. Minister Rana said that a separate Economic Diplomacy Division has been formed in the Ministry for coordination on this issue and efforts are being made to conduct effective economic diplomacy through the said division.

He said that various programs are being conducted by missions to promote cultural and tourism diplomacy and Nepal and there is a plan to expand these efforts more strongly. The Ministry has said that necessary actions are being taken to effectively implement the related strategy in coordination with the relevant agencies including development partners in order to facilitate and sustain the upgradation from the least developed countries. "The appointment of ambassadors has been done in accordance with the 'Guidelines for the appointment of ambassadors, 2075' and the existing rules and laws." Also, according to the prevailing law regarding labor assistants, those who have been selected from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security have been sent," Minister Rana said. Even with minimal manpower and resources, our ministries and agencies are providing very important services.'

Minister Rana said that after the organization and management survey conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently, there has been an increase in the number of delegations and employees and currently the Ministry is moving forward with the program keeping institutional capacity development as a priority. In addition to this, she said, the ministry has given priority to digital archiving, data management and other works for the enhancement of institutional records.

Minister Rana said that there has been some increase in the total budget of the coming financial year under the Ministry and  Although it is seen, the budget of other headings other than capital has decreased from the current year . In line with the changing world environment, the development of international relations and the promotion of economic diplomacy, including the need to ensure sufficient resources to increase the capacity of the ministry and its subordinates, she committed to using the appropriate budget based on priority. 

She informed that 8 billion 10 million 36 million 75 thousand revenue has been collected and a total of 6 billion 78 million 51 million has been spent in this financial year for the provision of passport, consular and other services from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the agencies under it, in which 50.9 percent of the capital budget has been spent.