The Nepal government has requested Nepalese residing in foreign countries to open dollar accounts in banks in the country and make investments amidst the economic crisis in the country. A drop has hit Nepal’s foreign reserves in tourism during the pandemic, a problem that has also hit Sri Lanka, which is going through a devastating economic crisis.

Speaking at a virtual interaction organised by the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), Nepal’s Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that non-resident Nepalese (NRN) opening dollar accounts in Nepalese banks would help the country get out of its current foreign currency crisis. There will be no shortage of liquidity if 100,000 NRNs open bank accounts in Nepal at the rate of 10,000 dollars, he said.

We have enough foreign currency to last 6-7 months to purchase goods and services. According to the latest report from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the government has 9.58 billion dollars in reserve. He said that millions of dollars had been spent on buying petrol. He also informed that the government had completed the proper policy process for the dollar account to benefit Nepalese living abroad. The discussions are also underway about providing free visas to tourists coming to Nepal, which will make it easier for NRNs.