"Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have assured us they can provide Nepal with an additional one million jobs for semi-skilled Nepalese," Information Minister Mohammad Mohasin said on state radio late Friday.

The request for workers came during a visit to Gulf countries by a Nepalese delegation that returned Thursday, the radio reported. It gave no hiring timeframe.

Money from workers abroad has become increasingly crucial for Nepal, reeling from a Maoist insurgency aimed at toppling the monarchy that has deepened its economic woes.

But the dream of earning money went sour for 12 Nepalese who were taken hostage by militants in Iraq and then killed in August. They had taken loans worth thousands of dollars to travel to the Gulf to work as household help in Jordan, their families said.

The killings sparked anti-Muslim riots in Nepal.

Mohasin said however that officials in the Gulf had "assured us of protecting the interests of Nepalese workers."

For Gulf countries, Nepalese workers are cheaper than Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Indian labour, a government official said.

Some 2.2 million people work abroad out of the nation of 27 million, hoping to escape deep poverty. About 1.2 million work in India and many are in the Middle East.

"There are already 76,000 Nepalese working in Qatar, 100,000 in the UAE and 250,000 in Saudi Arabia," Mohasin said.

"Workers' remittances have helped the public exchequer sustain the economy when the revolt has gravely affected industries, export trades and tourism," a finance ministry official said.

The ministry says foreign remittances account for 1.1 billion dollars annually -- the single biggest hard currency source.