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India and Saudi Arabia will set up a joint committee to address problems faced by Indian workers following the kingdom’s new labour policy. |
The first meeting of the new panel will be held in Riyadh tomorrow to discuss various means to solve the problems Indian workers would face under the new Nitaqat or Saudisation policy, reports said yesterday.
The new policy makes it mandatory for all Saudi companies to reserve 10% of jobs for Saudi nationals.
The new committee will be headed by Saudi Deputy Minister for Labour Ahamed al-Humaidan, and deputy chief of the Indian embassy in Riyadh, Sibi George.
Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi had a meeting with Saudi Minister for Labour Adel Fakewih in Jeddah on Sunday.
“The Indian side has conveyed its concerns to the Saudi officials, who have assured all possible support,” Ravi said at a press conference after the meeting.
“A joint working group, set up for expediting the labour agreement, will meet next month in New Delhi,” he added.
Around 60,000 Indian workers have registered in the Indian embassy in Riyadh and the consulate general in Jeddah, Ravi said.
These people have been rushing to take advantage of an amnesty scheme being offered by King Abdullah, the Saudi Gazette reported yesterday.
Ravi said his ministry will meet the expenses for hiring temporary staff to overcome the crisis created by the huge turnout of Indian workers who want to go home.
“We are also interacting with the community leaders and will apprise the prime minister of India about the real situation arising out of the Nitaqat implementation and the ideal steps to be taken in this regard,” he said.
However, the report said that, in a press conference earlier in the day, the minister did not answer a question on whether these workers will be provided with air tickets.
Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ali Rao urged Indian workers to take advantage of the amnesty scheme and either rectify their status in the kingdom or return home.
Ravi is leading a delegation on a goodwill mission comprising Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed and adviser to the Indian prime minister, T K A Nair, to Saudi Arabia.
Later, the delegation also met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and updated him about the outcome of the meeting.
There are around 1.8mn expatriate Indians in kingdom.