Abu Dhabi: A global meeting of an Indian expatriate organisation will discuss the problems being faced by expatriates in the presence of senior ministers from India.
The Global Meet of Overseas Indian Cultural Congress (OICC) to be held at Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC) in Abu Dhabi from Thursday to Saturday (April 11 to 13) will discuss all problems being faced by Indian expatriates, the organisers told Gulf News yesterday.
Senior Indian officials including Chief Minister of Southern Indian State of Kerala Oommen Chandy, three ministers from the Indian government and several members of the Indian parliament and Kerala State will attend the meeting.
“There will be special sessions to discuss the problems of expatriates. Considering the presence of senior ministers in the meet, the suggestions and recommendations can be brought to their attention for immediate solutions,” said Manoj Pushkar, General Convenor of the organising committee.
About 1,000 delegates from more than 15 nations, who are the office-bearers of the organisation in their respective countries will join the three-day meeting.
OICC is an umbrella body of various expatriate organisations, having affiliations to the Kerala unit of India’s ruling Indian National Congress party.
Although the meeting begins Thursday, its official inauguration will be done by the Kerala Chief Minister on Friday morning, said MG Pushpakaran, the chairman of the organising committee. Oommen Chandy will attend the meeting the whole day and he will fly back to India by Friday night, he said.
Chandy will be accompanied by his cabinet colleague KC Josep who is in charge of department for Non-Resident Keralites.
Indian Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi will attend the meeting on Saturday. Shashi Tharoor, the Indian minister of state for human resource development, and KC Venugopal, the Indian Minister of state for civil aviation have also confirmed to attend, the organisers said.
Ramesh Chennithala, the president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had told the media that the main focus of the discussions at the meeting will be the problems faced by the Indian diaspora, especially the Keralites, and also finding solutions.
A memorandum submitted by the KPCC to the Indian government in January had listed ten demands to solve the problems such as the difficulties related to air travel in the Gulf-Kerala routes, mistreatment by customs and immigration officials at airports, raising the ceiling of gold permitted to be brought by expatriates to India, and legal help to prisoners in Gulf countries etc.
