The government on Thursday announced in the Rajya Sabha that Saudi Arabia had promised to fly back the retrenched Indian workers who want to come back.
Announcing the personal support of Saudi King Salman in providing humanitarian assistance to the workers, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha that the Saudi government would also try and find jobs for them.
Diplomatic sources working on the ground told The Hindu that the west Asian nation’s support had made “visible changes” on the ground.
“Saudi Arabia has informed that the process of sending workers back to India will be done on Saudi Arabia’s expenses. King of Saudi Arabia himself has directed his officers to resolve this issue in two days,” Ms. Swaraj said.
Ms. Swaraj’s statement comes a day after Minister of State Gen. (Retd.) V.K. Singh told some mediapersons in Jeddah that the Saudi government had promised humanitarian support to Indian workers.
A source in the diplomatic corps based in Saudi Arabia told The Hindu over phone that many labour camps have been receiving Saudi relief material over the past one day.
“While it is true that some of the workers wish to return, they are not willing to leave without their lifelong savings as many of them have worked here for dozens of years,” the official said, while also pointing out that despite promises, the Saudi Arabian government had not issued a single exit visa till Thursday.
