RIYADH, 11 February 2003 — The Indian Embassy reaffirmed its commitment to the safety and well-being of 1.6 million Indian expatriates in the Kingdom here yesterday, saying that there is no cause for concern at this stage.
“We have contingency plans to meet all eventualities that may arise” from a possible US-led war on Iraq. “The situation is being monitored closely and the input we are receiving from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait is being factored in,” J.S. Mukul, deputy head of mission at the Indian Embassy, told a press conference here.
Allaying concerns among Indian expats in the Kingdom, Mukul urged them to stay calm and refrain from “rumor-mongering or unnecessary speculation.”
He said the embassy is staying in close touch with Saudi authorities as part of its efforts to monitor the situation.
However, he did not spell out the contingency plans, despite repeated questioning. Arab News last week ran an article on how the Indian expatriate community felt it was being neglected by its diplomats because of a lack of details about what they will do if war breaks out.
Asked whether he anticipated any influx of Indians into the Kingdom from Kuwait, Mukul said that the Indian Embassy there had drawn up its own plans to deal with that possibility. The measures include the mobilization of additional Air India flights and “whatever else is needed”.
Mukul said these and other measures were discussed at a meeting of Indian ambassadors in the Gulf states, held in Abu Dhabi recently under the chairmanship of India’s minister of external affairs.
He reassured the Indian community in the region that the Indian Embassy officials have toured the Eastern and Western Provinces extensively to get a first-hand view of the situation.
“Our feeling is that the Indian expatriates are behaving in an exemplary manner with no sign of panic.”
During the 1990-91 refugee crisis triggered by the Gulf War, a large number of Indian expatriates fleeing Kuwait into Saudi Arabia were accommodated at the then Indian Embassy School in Riyadh and make-shift camps in downtown Batha.
Mukul did not rule out the possibility of seeking the cooperation of community associations depending on how the situation developed.
