As the war in Ukraine drags on, both its citizens and foreigners are making a dash for the border to enter neighouring countries. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) claims that 244 Nepalis stranded in Ukraine in the midst of the current crisis following Russia's invasion last week have reached safe destinations in neighbouring countries, namely, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova. It is not known how many Nepalis are there in Ukraine, but at least 150 more Nepalis were said to be waiting at various border points of that country to enter Poland, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania. Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday had requested the Nepalis living in Ukraine to assess the situation and return home on commercial flights. Most of the Nepalis residing in Ukraine are students studying mostly medicine, engineering and business studies although a few others are working there or doing business or were in transit before entering Western Europe.

Although talks have begun between Russia and Ukraine to find a solution to the crisis, it is not clear how long it will take before things return to normalcy.

In such a situation, it's a 'wait and see' game for the war refugees as well as those who continue to stay in Ukraine. Should the conflict continue for long, the United Nations estimates there could be as many as 4 million refugees, with devastating humanitarian consequences. Nepali as well as other foreign students are already feeling the pinch as they do not come from very well-off families who can help them financially during the crisis with the Euro.

The Ukrainian currency, hryvnia, has seen its value drop since the Russian invasion, and even if one has money, stores have run out of food. For those who have fled Ukraine, it is for sure that most Nepalis are not carrying much cash with them to tide them over for long. The weather is also not on their side, with snowfall to last until mid-April. And as more and more Ukrainians flee the country every day to escape the violence, they are likely to be the priority and not citizens of other countries. There are already reports of extortion of foreign students trying to enter the safe zones.

Scattered as they are in different countries bordering Ukraine, it is not feasible for the government to airlift the stranded Nepalis back home, as it had done in the past during the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 or from Wuhan China in February 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the European Union has banned Nepali airlines from flying in its airspace. The support the NRNA has been providing to the stranded Nepalis must be commended.

However, there must be quite a few Nepalis living in the interior parts of Ukraine who are unable to reach the border points. There must also be some requiring urgent health services. The government must, as on past occasions, coordinate the activities of its missions in Europe and the NRNA to provide all possible help to those in need. Should the crisis linger, it might be better for the Nepalis to return home than be without a job, money, food and health. The Nepali missions and the NRNA must help them with travel documents and air tickets to return to Nepal.

MoU on fertilisers

Nepal always faces an acute shortage of chemical fertilisers - urea, DPA and potash - when Nepali farmers need them the most during and post plantation of paddy and other winter crops. As Nepal does not produce any of the needed chemical fertilisers, it has no option other than to import them from third countries. But their supplies are often disrupted or delayed due to procedural delay and logistic constraints. A steady supply of fertilisers is imperative to improve agricultural growth.

In order to address the supply constrains, Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for long-term supply of urea and DPA from India to Nepal under a G2G arrangement. Officials from both the countries signed the MoU on Sunday. It is hoped that the MoU will further boost bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector by supporting Nepal's economy and food security. Nepal reached the MoU with India after years of efforts to import fertilisers from other sources proved unsuccessful. Importing fertilisers under the G2G arrangement will not only ensure smooth supply of fertilisers to Nepal, but it will also help control widespread corruption and irregularities seen in the government entities.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 2, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.