26 March, Portugal. Nepali activists have been active in presenting the demand for the establishment of a Portuguese embassy in Nepal in the Parliament here.

This campaign was conducted on the basis of the need to have a government representation of Portugal in Nepal where more than 60,000 Nepalis (about 30,000 according to government statistics) are permanently and temporarily residing. At present, Nepalis have to take complicated and financially expensive services from the Portuguese Embassy in India.

According to Rameshraj Vastola, who is active in the campaign to establish a Portuguese embassy in Nepal, 216 online signatures have been registered on the official website of the Portuguese Parliament in a period of three weeks.

Bastola says that a campaign has been conducted so that thousands of Nepalese and their families in Nepal can get services from Nepal. The Nepalese who are here are forced to go to India to bring their families and to verify other documents. “If an embassy or a consul general’s office is established in Nepal, the Nepali people will get 100 percent relief”, says Bastola, “Since the activities and talks that have been done so far have only been informal, we are in the process of formally presenting this demand to the Portuguese government.”

In this campaign started by Bastola, Portugal’s famous lawyer Angela Maria Cabral Arseniole has given a legal and institutional form. He argues that it is necessary for the Portuguese government to send its representative to Nepal in order to make the work of document verification and family reunification of Nepalis, who play an important role in the economic and social sector here, easier and cheaper.

On the official website of the Parliament here, advocate Arsenyol has submitted a demand letter and has publicly invited Nepali people to participate in it. According to the information given by the agent Bastol, quoting the lawyer Arseniole, after the participation of 1000 people, this matter will be submitted to the parliamentary committee of the Portuguese Parliament for discussion.

The demands or proposals with the signatures of 4,000 people are directly discussed in the parliament. There is a legal provision here that after collecting the signatures of 7,600 people, the matter will be submitted directly to the Cabinet.

There is a provision that any individual or citizen can put their demands on the official website of the Parliament on the matter of public interest and other supporters can sign it online. Based on how many citizens or individuals participated in the online signature in support of it, the parliament and the government will give priority to the issue.

Currently registered on the website of the Portuguese Parliament under the title ‘Request for Establishment of Permanent Representation in Nepal’ 216 Nepalis signed onlinewho are

The participants of the campaign say that the establishment of the Portuguese embassy in Nepal will not only facilitate the process of citizen’s documents and family reunification, but will also help in friendship, cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries.

In Portugal, the Nepali government has already established a Nepali embassy a year ago. In November 2080, Salin was appointed Nepal ambassador and returned to Portugal without stepping foot. Prakashmani Poudel, who was appointed ambassador by the Nepal government a year ago, is currently working here as a resident ambassador.

Sign of establishment of ‘Consular Office’ in Nepal

The Portuguese government has indicated that it will establish a Consulate General (Consular Office) to officially represent itself in Nepal. Publicizing the telephone conversation held between Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal and Nepal’s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel last week (April 1), the Portuguese Foreign Ministry said that it will establish a consular office in Nepal.

The ministry has mentioned on its Facebook page that an office will be established in Nepal to bring the mutual relations between the two countries to a new height and to provide direct benefits to the citizens, with pictures of Nepal’s Foreign Minister Khanal and Nepal’s Foreign Minister Paulo.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given priority to the issue of establishing its representative office in Nepal, noting that various contemporary issues have been discussed, ranging from assisting the Nepalis in Portugal to the problems they are currently facing.

The Nepali Embassy has said that it has not received any official information on this matter. According to the first secretary of the embassy, ​​Rambabu Nepal, the first agenda of the discussion with the government and various parties is the demand for the establishment of a Portuguese embassy or consulate in Nepal. He said that the president and parliamentarians of various political parties are positive about this matter.

“Unofficially, we have also learned that the government here in Nepal will establish a consular office, this is a matter of great joy, but officially, no information has been received from the embassy office yet,” said Nepal.