To Protect Gulf NRI Workers...

A new push is under way to protect the interests of Indian workers in the Gulf, it was declared yesterday.

Concrete steps will follow the global conference of overseas
Indians, held in New Delhi earlier this month, said Indian Ambassador
Balkrishna Shetty.

"It was a great experience to attend the three-day event, especially the session on the Gulf on the first day," he said.

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State
for External Affairs E Ahmed spoke at the session, which was attended
by Indian community and business leaders in the Gulf.

Mr Shetty, who also spoke at the session, pointed out the efforts
made by the Indian Embassy in attending to the problems of expatriate
Indian workers.

"All the leaders have a clear understanding of the specific nature
of the problems faced by Indians in the Gulf, including the acute staff
shortage at Indian missions here," he noted.

"We were happy to learn that the government is taking serious steps to address the problems."

Mr Ravi talked about the proposed amendments to the Indian
Emigration Act, which will go a long way in making recruitment of
Indian workers in the Gulf more smooth, orderly and humane, said Mr
Shetty.

"Unlike previous years, the Indian government attached special
significance to this session, as it deals with issues concerning the
4.5 million strong expatriate Indians living in the Gulf," he noted.

Indians living around the world showed keen interest in taking part in their country's development process, said Mr Shetty.

"They also welcomed a declaration from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh on the establishment of a University for Persons of Indian
Origin," he added.

The three-day event was organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry. This
year's theme was Rooting for the Roots: Meeting India's Development
Challenges.

The forum is the annual flagship event of the ministry and it aims
to connect more than 25m overseas Indians and bring the expertise and
knowledge of Indian community abroad to India .

Dr Singh opened the conference and President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam addressed the closing session.

SOURCE-www.gulf-daily-news.com