S Jaishankar meets India's envoys from seven gulf countries in Kuwait, focusses on welfare of Indian diaspora

New Delhi: With a focus on the welfare of the Indian community, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday (June 11, 2021) met the country's envoys in seven Gulf countries during his Kuwait visit. 

Speaking to the Indian community, Jaishankar said, "My instructions to all the Ambassador was that they need to focus, even more. I must say they have done a splendid job in last year and a half, but focus even more on the welfare of the Indian community."

The EAM asked envoys to facilitate reuniting the families separated by coronavirus and help in the early return of Indian Talent who left the region during the pandemic. He also urged them to work on the speedy resumption of flights between the Gulf and India, and increase trade linkages that will help in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Jaishankar also highlighted, "For us, the gulf is a very special region, it is our extended neighborhood, source of a lot of our energy supply and it's a special region because of the Indian diaspora."

In the meeting were present Indian envoys to Kuwait Sibi George, to Saudi Arabia Dr Ausaf Sayeed, to UAE Pavan Kapoor, to Iran Gaddam Dharmendra, to Oman Munu Mahawar, to Qatar Dr Deepak Mittal and India's envoy to Bahrain Piyush Srivastava. JS Gulf Vipul was also present.

This is to be noted that the Gulf hosts the largest number of Indians overseas, most of them are blue-collared workers. In fact, it is said that the Indian workers are building the cities of the gulf, supplying the region with crucial manpower. They are a crucial source of remittances back home, helping develop communities.

India has been reaching out to the diaspora in the region, with Indian missions providing services. India also has an e-Migrate system that provides protection to blue-collar workers. This is a measure to ensure protection against possible exploitation of the Indian workers.