V K Singh reaching Jeddah to bring back stranded Indian workers

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh is reaching Jeddah today morning to assess the situation and finalise modalities to bring back Indians who want to return to home from Saudi Arabia. Ahead of General (Retd.) Singh's visit, the Indian embassy has launched an initiative to collect details of the Indians laid off by their employers. MEA officials said, Singh is scheduled to return on Friday. Currently, a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps.

Thousands of workers including Indians, Filipinos and Pakistanis have lost their jobs due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by government of that country. The Indian mission has provided food to the Indians who cannot buy it.

Making a statement in Parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said



the workers will be brought back home, asserting that not one of them will go hungry. The minister further said that the government is in touch with the foreign and labour offices in Saudi Arabia to ensure early evacuation of Indian workers.

Garry Martinez, Chairman of the Migrante International, which works for the millions of Filipino overseas workers worldwide said, some Filipinos are forced to beg or sift through garbage to survive after going unpaid for months.

Meanwhile, Pakistan said, 8,520 of its nationals in Saudi Arabia had not been receiving their salaries for several months. A Foreign Ministry statement said that most of the workers want to leave these companies but only after settling their dues. The Pakistan embassy had set up special centres and a fund to provide aid, food, medicine and shelter.