Nepal seeks to cut migrant deaths with safety training

About 1,000 out of an estimated 4 million Nepali migrants die abroad each year, mainly in Saudi Arabia, Qatar andMalaysia where most work as domestics and in construction. Migrant remittances makes up a quarter of impoverished Nepal's GDP. (Nepali security guard Kul Bahadur, 24, reads the guide book by the Labour Department that containes policies, procedures and regulations governing the employment of foreign workers in Malaysia. - The Star filepic)

KATHMANDU: In a bid to reduce migrant deaths in the Middle East and Asia, millions of Nepalis who work overseas will be given mandatory safety training before departure, officials said on Tuesday.

About 1,000 out of an estimated 4 million Nepali migrants die abroad each year, mainly in Saudi Arabia, Qatar andMalaysia where most work as domestics and in construction. Migrant remittances makes up a quarter of impoverished Nepal's GDP.