Dubai: V. Muraleedharan, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, who is curently on a three-day visit here, will inaugurate an upskilling centre for Indian workers in Dubai and also launch an app to help Indian expatriates in the UAE, the Indian Consulate in Dubai said on Tuesday. Muraleedharan landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday night. He was received by Pavan Kapoor, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said in a tweet.
“Glad to be in Abu Dhabi for a bilateral visit. Look forward to [meeting] the UAE dignitaries and our community in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ajman,” Muraleedharan stated while retweeting the embassy’s post.
The upskilling centre is expected to offer free classes in Arabic and on computer literacy for workers.
In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the minister will hold talks with the UAE side on various bilateral and international issues of mutual interest. “There will be special focus, during the visit, on issues related to the Indian community, especially the welfare of Indian workers,” the minisry said in a statement. “India and UAE have maintained close coordination in the spirit of their comprehensive strategic partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic. External Affairs minister had also paid a visit to UAE in November 2020. An air bubble arrangement has been functioning successfully between both the countries,” the ministry added.
Kapoor had earlier on Monday said that the embassy was finalising the Indian minister’s meetings with UAE ministers in Abu Dhabi. The consulate said the minister will be visiting Dubai and the northern Emirates on January 20 and 21. On Wednesday, the minister will be inaugurating the first-ever Upskilling Centre for Blue-Collar Workers at Delhi Public School (DPS) in Jebel Ali, the mission stated. He will also be interacting with the Indian community and representatives of various social organisations and will launch the “PBSK app” in the consulate’s auditorium on Thursday, the mission added. PBSK stands for Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra, a help centre for distressed Indian expatriates in the UAE that runs a 24x7 toll free helpline, 800-INDIA or 80046342.
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Working out of the consulate premises, the centre also offers free legal, psychological and financial counselling services.
First centre for upskilling
The Upskilling Centre is the first outcome of the mission’s collaborations with stakeholders to upskill and retrain blue-collar workers here to meet post COVID-19 challenges in the job market. “We are planning to work with key stakeholders in making sure that the [Indian] workforce here can be upskilled and retrained for the job requirements in the post-COVID scenario,” Dr Puri had told Gulf News after the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration held at the consulate on January 9.
