Indian premier to visit GCC countries in 2015

Gandhinagar: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made diaspora outreach a corner stone of his government’s foreign policy, is expected to visit the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries sometime in the middle of 2015.

According to officials in the prime minister’s office, “His (Modi) visit to US and Australia has grabbed the headlines, but the government in the last six months has also worked on expanding economic and political opportunities with the countries in the Gulf region. A prime ministerial visit is certainly on the cards in mid-2015.”

A spokesperson at the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Syed Akbaruddin, told reporters here, “The exact schedule is yet to be finalised, but the PM would certainly be visiting a number of countries in the region.”

External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had made two separate trips to the region in 2014 — UAE and Bahrain — seeking better relationships with a region which is home to 7 million Indians.

“The Gulf Region has a very special place in our hearts not only because of the economic opportunities but since millions of Indians call it their home. UAE is India’s largest trading partner and we are keen to expand our business ties many fold,” Swaraj said.

The Indian government is also working hard to overcome the perception that the BJP-led central government is careless about the poor migrants, whose annual remittances is around $20 billion, just under 30 per cent of such flows into India.

Besides the high remittances, the trade between India and the Arab nations stands at $200 billion and is the country’s principal energy source and a major trade, investments and joint venture partner.

In Kerala, the situation is being keenly watched because 2.2 million Indians from the state are working in the Gulf countries and its remittance play a crucial role in the state’s economy.

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has already sought the central government’s support to rehabilitate Indians who have returned from Saudi Arabia after change in laws there. Presently, 2 million Indians work that country.

“Employment opportunities for Indians in the Gulf countries may diminish and reforms like ‘Nitaqat’ may force the Indians to return to the home country. We must think about how we can rehabilitate those who come back to India and in what way we can make use of their expertise,” Chandy said at the recently concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (diaspora meet).

Though the Kerala government has drafted a rehabilitation package, it lacks the resources to implement it and the government is keen to use the expertise of the people for the development of the state.

“Indians are bound to obey the laws of the land where they live, but at the same time both the central and state governments have to work to protect the genuine interest of the Indian diaspora,” he had said.