This report identifies challenges in the migration process from Nepal to Qatar (related to high migration costs and their financing) and constraints in the remittance transfer process from Qatar to Nepal, which together limit the development and poverty reduction impact of remittance flows to Nepali households. The report analyzes migration practices, remittance transfer processes, and their underlying legal and regulatory framework in the Qatar-Nepal Corridor in order to provide policy recommendations that would help improve the scale and impact of remittance transfers from Qatar to Nepal,...

Millions of migrants worldwide send billions of dollars in remittances each year to their families or communities of origin. In many developing countries, remittances are an important source of family and national income and also are the largest source of external financing. Remittances are better targeted at the needs of the poor than foreign aid or foreign direct investment (FDI) as recipients often depend on remittances to cover daily living expenses, to provide a cushion against emergencies, or to make small investments in business or education. Therefore, international remittance...

The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006 and Constituent Assembly elections in 2008 have paved the way for political and economic reform in Nepal. Indeed, the 2009 Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) shows that Nepal's private sector is starting to reap some dividend from the cessation of armed conflict in terms of employment generation, rebounding tourism, increased tax collection, as well as less complex business regulations and procedures to obtain permits. However, Nepal's private sector (already plagued with various market failures) continues to suffer from the...