It will take initiatives to help create a network of Nepali diaspora and learn about their contribution to Nepal Kathmandu, May 10 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a unit named Brain Gain Centre with an aim to tap the expertise of Nepali diaspora and encourage them to contribute to Nepal’s social and economic development. Major objectives of the centre include maintaining up-to-date information about Nepali diaspora and their expertise, thereby creating access to the vast amount of intellectual resources they possess. The centre also aims at giving recognition to the work by individual diaspora experts and groups, promoting their contribution among government and non-governmental agencies, and fostering respect for diaspora experts among the people back home. Other objectives of the centre include encouraging ministries, government agencies and academic and social institutions to use database for reaching out to diaspora experts and enhance connections and opportunities. It envisages taking initiatives to help create a network of Nepali diaspora and learn about their contribution to Nepal, and create opportunities for collaborating with experts at home. The centre has already started gathering information about number of Nepali diaspora experts, their expertise, current engagements and their interests. On Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali wrote a letter to Nepalis living around the globe requesting them to get connected to the centre. In the letter, Gyawali said the country needed both internal and external resources to achieve its goal of graduating into a developing country by 2022, and into a middle-income country by 2030. Stating that the country was facing a severe shortage of human capital because of growing ‘brain drain,’ Gyawali said Brain Gain Centre aimed at identifying human resources required for the country and mobilising them accordingly. “Hoping that you will cooperate and use your knowledge, skills and experience in the interest of your home country, I request you to share your information through this platform,” said Gyawali in the letter. Interested individuals can access the centre at www.mofa.gov.np/bgc. Non-resident Nepalis welcomed the government’s move. Former president of Non-Resident Nepali Association Jiba Lamichhane said in a Twitter post that the government and the ministry had come up with a good initiative. “BGC is a good initiative. Many thanks MOFA GoN,” he tweeted.