For Nepal, the road out of crisis runs through its people and diaspora

As PM Balen Shah weighs attending the UNGA, Nepal needs global support for its floods and stronger guarantees for its people abroad.

People look at photographs of missing people on a wall outside Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, reacts outside Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 2. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

With the United Nations General Assembly kicking off its 81st session in New York, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah is reportedly facing pressure from his party and the country in general to attend the session and seek climate justice and global support following the catastrophic flash floods.

Over the last three decades, Nepal has faced three distinct sets of challenges—political upheavals, a decade-long civil war, and natural disasters. While this constant internal churn has impacted Nepal’s development trajectory, the question remains: how can Nepal emerge from it?

So far, more than 1,200 people have died in the floods, and the numbers are likely to rise. While search and rescue has not been easy for Nepal—given its difficult terrain, limited emergency preparedness, and strained finances—PM Balen Shah’s well-crafted message to the world community could be key from the UN podium. He could highlight the growing power of Gen Z, the quest for inclusive democracy, the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, and, most importantly, how the country’s geographical location as a landlocked nation compounds its challenges.

In 2025, interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki faced a similar dilemma: whether to attend the UNGA and deliver a message on democracy, or stay in the country, focus on restoring law and order after a violent Gen Z movement, and hold fresh elections. Karki chose the latter, but Balen’s challenges are now not just internal; floods of this magnitude require extraordinary global support, and nothing could be timelier than the UNGA.

Investing in people

The 1990s were a pivotal period in Nepal’s history. The People’s Movement (Jana Andolan) in 1990 was followed by the decade-long civil war in 1996, which forced many to migrate to West Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. While employment-driven migration to India had long existed because no visa or passport was required to cross an open border, migration to third countries was a new phenomenon, and the reasons were clear: the search for more permanent settlements and better financial prospects.

In the last three decades, workers’ remittances to Nepal’s GDP have grown manifold. From being predominantly an agrarian economy to a remittance-driven economy, Nepal has come a long way. In FY 2025-26, remittances are expected to be at 33.02 per cent—a sharp increase of 6.6 per cent from 2024-25. While remittances have brought people to the core of Nepal’s economic growth trajectory, the state’s response in investing in its people has been meagre. Much of the blame goes to political instability in the past 17 years and a decade-long civil war—the Maoist insurgency from 1996 to 2006, which stemmed from deep-seated socio-economic inequalities, rural poverty, and political disenfranchisement, ultimately leading to the abolition of the monarchy.

The current crisis will undoubtedly fuel migration even further. Migration may be regarded as a remedy to a falling job market and a dwindling economy, especially because the state is less equipped to offer an immediate solution. What Nepal needs, and has always needed, is a mechanism to protect those who leave in search of opportunities abroad. After all, their contribution to the economy makes their safety a moral obligation for the state.

Diaspora contributes, needs safety assurances

Soon after the recent disaster, PM Balen Shah reached out to the Nepali diaspora with a plea to help the country. Several of Nepal’s diplomatic missions shared QR codes with account details for the Prime Minister Relief Fund, appealing for contributions. The government has also received support for relief, rescue, and financial aid from various countries, but an appeal to the diaspora is particularly important.

Today, an estimated 2.6 million Nepalis—about 9 per cent of the total population of 30 million—live abroad, mostly in India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, Australia, and Japan. But global crises, especially wars in Europe and West Asia, have created situations in which the state must protect and rescue them.

Not long ago, the Russia-Ukraine war created a safety question for migrants and many countries rushed to evacuate their citizens. But limited resources and weak diplomatic outreach made Nepal depend on countries like India to help evacuate Nepali citizens. There were also reports of Nepalis joining the Russian army to fight in the brutal war against Ukraine.

The allure of employment, whether unregulated, illegal, or risky, has made migration riskier.

Therefore, what Nepal needs urgently is to invest strongly in its people, with dependable assurances that the country will rescue them. During the 2026 general elections following the Gen Z movement, Balen Shah had assured voters that he would do more for the diaspora, and it was the Nepali diaspora that actually played a key role in making the ‘Balen wave’ a major phenomenon, be it by convincing relatives back home to vote for change or by filling social media with support for Balen Shah.

If the diaspora is key to economic growth, the responsibility to protect it must also be a state obligation. And small beginnings can be made by strengthening diplomatic missions.

Currently, the key missions in the United States, India, China, Germany, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Japan do not have resident ambassadors. The Interim Government of Sushila Karki recalled most of them in October 2025, citing many appointments made by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. After taking office, the Balen government also recalled a few in April 2026 and made an open call for new appointments through an application and selection process, which is yet to materialise.

With key ambassadorial positions vacant, diplomatic outreach, not just to the diaspora, but to host countries, narrows.

Nepal’s story is far from just the heart-wrenching impacts of the recent flash floods. While prayers and global support for Nepal’s current crisis pour in, the country needs to reinvest in its people, who contribute to the national economy through remittances and otherwise. At the same time, each crisis must lead to new strategies and stronger mechanisms.

Rishi Gupta is a commentator on global strategic affairs. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not reflect the views of the author’s current or past affiliations in any form.

(Edited by Prashant Dixit)