RIYADH, 17 October 2004 — A colorful reception was organized here on Wednesday night to welcome the new Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook.
Many community leaders, who attended the reception, however, seized the opportunity to air their grievances and demanded that the ambassador and his colleagues solve the plethora of problems facing many Indian workers in different parts of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is home to over 1.6 million non-resident Indians (NRIs).
The reception was attended by over 600 Indian expatriates including many prominent businessmen and executives such as Dr. Rashid Basha, Rashid Ali Shaikh, Dr. Dilnawaz Roomi, Sam Mathew, Nadeem Tarin, Afzal Ali Jagirdar, Afzal Sanai, S.M.I. Hassan, G. V. Ramana, M. Qassim and Senthil Kumar at the Riyadh Palace Hotel. Many community organizations also presented bouquets to the ambassador.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Farook reaffirmed that he and his colleagues at the Indian Embassy will spare no effort to solve the problems of Indian expatriates. Farook said since he was in public service from an early age, he was able to feel the pulse of the people and understand their problems better. He assured the community of all support.
Community leaders raised the issue of poorly paid workers. It was also explained that whereas NRIs in the US and other countries are eligible for various facilities including social insurance benefit in the event of unemployment, such a concept is nonexistent in the Gulf where an expatriate has to leave as soon as his contract ends.
The community leaders also raised the issue of relatively high Air-India fares to a few Indian destinations and the problems facing the Indian schools all over the Kingdom, which have a total enrolment of over 35,000 students.
They also urged the ambassador to liaise with the Indian government to secure voting rights for overseas Indians including those living in the six GCC states. The Gulf NRIs have pitched in with a total of $41 billion to the Indian exchequer during the last 20 years.
