MEA Jaishankar appeals to Gulf countries to facilitate early return of Indians to work

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said the government understands the concerns of people who are employed in companies in the Middle-East and appealed to the Gulf nations from the house floor to facilitate the early return of those who were compelled to come back to India due to COVID-19.
 
He said "Just as the government led the way for an economic recovery at home, untiring efforts are being made to renew the livelihoods of Indians abroad," the minister said in a statement in Lok Sabha. He mentioned that the few restrictions on air travel are a mandatory measure to contain the spread of coronavirus, however, he urged the Gulf countries to empathise with those Indians who are employed in Gulf.

'Sympathetically look at Indians employed in Gulf nations': EAM

"The air travel arrangements are a necessary enabling measure, but beyond that, we have been active in urging our partner governments to look sympathetically at the employment of our citizens as they chart their own recovery pathway," PTI quoted Jaishankar as saying. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has engaged in talks with the leaders of countries in the Middle East including UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
 
Jaishankar then recalled that he has also interacted with the leaders and representatives of UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar to accelerate the matters pertaining to the welfare of Indians in their respective countries. He further said that the Indian government has maintained constant communication with the foreign ministers of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia which employs maximum Indians.

Bill passed by Kuwait in 2020 to reduce ex-pats in the country

For instance, Kuwait houses at least 800,000 Indians, of which 300,000 are employed there as drivers, chefs, and caretakers. There are other sectors also where Indians are employed and considering the rise in the number of Indian workers, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah last year had said that it has caused a "big imbalance" in the country's work atmosphere. Kuwait had also passed a bill to cut down on the ex-pats, aiming to reduce the percentage of 70% Indians living in Kuwait to 30 percent.