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Your welfare our top priority Singh tells Indian community
Filed under NewsMar 2RIYADH – Indian workers in Saudi Arabia are serving as building blocks for ever-improving bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said here Monday.
Addressing the Indian community at the Embassy of India Auditorium here, Singh said he was delighted to have an opportunity to meet them. “You represent a microcosm of the 1.8 million Indians in Saudi Arabia,” he told around 200 Indian nationals gathered in the auditorium. Most of them later had the rare opportunity of shaking hands with the prime minister.
Singh was accompanied by ministers in his entourage and Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad.
Prime Minister Singh Monday wrapped up his three-day visit to the Kingdom. Earlier in the day, he also addressed the Shoura Council and visited King Saud University which conferred a doctorate degree on him.
Addressing the Indian community, he said that he has “heard universal praise from the entire Saudi leadership about your (Indian workers) contribution to the economic, social and technological progress of Saudi Arabia. A lot of the credit for this goes to you. You are the bridge that unites India and Saudi Arabia.”
Singh assured the Indian community that the welfare and well-being of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia was a high priority for the Indian government.
“I am aware of some of the difficulties you face here. I want to assure you that your welfare and wellbeing is a matter of high priority for our government,” he said.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was created specifically to focus on the problems faced by NRIs, and a number of steps have been taken in this regard during the last five years, he said.
“Our Ambassador (in Riyadh) and our consulate in Jeddah are working proactively to respond promptly and sympathetically to the concerns of the community, particularly the most vulnerable among them,” he said.
Complaints received from workers are taken up with sponsors, and, whenever necessary, with the Saudi authorities, he said.
In this context he said an Indian Community Welfare Fund was set up in November 2009. “We are in regular contact with the Saudi authorities to ensure that a mechanism is in place to effectively redress matters whenever necessary,” he said.
“However, I recognize that there is always scope for improvement. I assure you that we will give the most serious consideration to any suggestions you may have, and I invite you to come forward with your ideas and proposals,” he said.
Singh sought to convey his greetings to those living in other parts of the Kingdom. “To each and everyone of them who are not present today, in Jeddah or Dammam, Makkah or Madina, I convey my greetings. I would like them to know that India is proud of them and their achievements,” Singh said amidst huge applause.
Singh said there is hardly a major project in Saudi Arabia or for that matter in the entire Gulf region that has not seen a contribution of some kind by Indian professionals and workers. “This is a matter of pride for you, but it is also something which makes all of India proud,” he said.
The contribution Indian workers are making by way of remittances worth several billions of dollars is fueling the resurgence of India, he said.
“I heartily congratulate you and your families for your remarkable successes,” the prime minister said.
Pluralism and diversity are second nature to Indians, he said. All this makes an Indian tolerant and naturally inclined to harmonious peaceful co-existence. “I have no doubt that you reflect these lofty values in your workplaces, homes and in social interactions,” he said.
“I am only the third Indian prime minister to visit the Kingdom. Yet, I feel the same way as His Majesty King Abdullah felt when he was in India four years ago – that I have come to my second home. During my stay, I have seen enormous goodwill and warmth for India,” he said.
He said that the Indian government has taken a conscious decision to strengthen Indias relations with the entire Gulf region. This is a region with huge potential. Prosperity and stability in this part of the world has opened vast opportunities for Indian experts, professionals and workers, he said.
Indian companies are investing in the region, and contributing to its economic development. “We also welcome Saudi investments into India, and will actively encourage them.”
He said India was happy that many Saudi students are coming to it for education under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program.
India is opening up to the rest of the world. Despite the global economic slowdown, our economy will grow at 7.5 percent this year.
“But this is not enough, and we aim much higher. There is a new dynamism within the country and there is a universal belief that the future belongs to us,” he said. – SG
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