Jobless Indians in Saudi Arabia to start returning: Foreign Ministry
New Delhi: Retrenched Indian workers of Saudia Arabia's Saad group will start coming back to India beginning Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday night.
She said Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs VK Singh is already in that country to oversee return of the Indian workers, estimated to be in a few thousands.
Thousands of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia had lost their jobs and some of them even struggled to buy food following which the government intervened.
Some of these Indians have already returned to the country.
Mr Singh had made a number of visits to the country in the last few months to help the jobless Indians and ensure return of those who wanted to come back.
Thousands of Indian workers have lost their jobs due to slowdown in the Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by the government.
The Indian government had earlier requested Saudi authorities to give the unemployed Indian workers exit visas without NoC (No-Objection Certificate) from employers and also urged it to clear the dues of workers who have not been paid for months, whenever they settle the accounts with the companies concerned.
As per rules, no foreign employee can leave the country without NoC by the employers.