Govt in talks with Gulf countries for return of Indian workers, says Jaishankar

As per the official estimates, under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ 7,16,662 workers returned to India from the six Gulf countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain

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Pandemic problems are subsiding, but for many Indians, who work abroad especially in the Gulf countries, the things are still far from normal. A large number of them have lost jobs, while others are on standby waiting from their employers to come back to work.

The Government of India, however, has been proactively pursuing the matter with the Gulf governments to ensure that Indian workers are back to their work and jobs.

In response to questions in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said the ministry was pursuing the issue with its counterparts in the region at the highest level.

“Economic recovery in the Gulf and its increasing openness to ease travel restrictions following a receding trend in Covid-19 cases, many Indian workers are now returning back to the region,” he said.

As per the official estimates, under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ 7,16,662 workers returned to India from the six Gulf countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain.

He assured the House regarding salary payment and jobs of the Indian nationals in the Gulf countries and said the Indian missions were working on these matters on priority basis

“I would like to inform that we have engaged with the governments of the Gulf. This engagement is led by the prime minister himself. In the course of the last two years, during the Covid period, the prime minister has had 16 telephonic conversations with his counterparts, the leaders of the Gulf countries,” the External Affairs Minister said.

The minister mentioned his visit to the Gulf countries 13 times and Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) V Muraleedharan four times.

“Our objective is to get as many workers back there as possible, as many of them back to their old jobs,” Jaishankar said.

He assured the House regarding salary payment and jobs of the Indian nationals in the Gulf countries and said the Indian missions were working on these matters on priority basis.

“…employment, ensuring that wages are paid, ensuring welfare of workers, these have been very much the priority of our missions in the Gulf. From the highest level we have been engaged on this matter and we have been regularly talking to the governments of the Gulf at my level and at the ambassadors’ level,” the minister said.

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