The Indian Embassy has made full use of the amnesty concessions to rectify the status of its workers, an official said here Tuesday.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission, said this was the assurance given by Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao to Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih at a recent meeting in the capital.

George, who was also present at the meeting, said the two men “discussed the grace period, issues concerning the welfare of the Indian community and how effectively the Indian Embassy utilized the amnesty concessions.”

He said Rao assured Fakeih that Indian workers had used the amnesty to ensure their documents are in order. He thanked the Saudi authorities for adopting a “humanitarian approach” to their Saudization programs and helping workers with their applications.

George said that Fakeih thanked the Indian Embassy for helping its workers to meet the amnesty deadline.

George said the Indian ambassador had not asked for an extension of the deadline. “We are looking at the implementation part. We are in the final days of the grace period announced by Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.”

“We will continue our efforts until the last day to ensure that no Indian remains illegal after Nov. 3, 2013. We only raised issues around the welfare of the Indian community during the meeting.”


George would not comment on the proposed labor agreement between India and Saudi Arabia on domestic workers. He said the two sides had yet to finalize the date for the signing.

Arab News reported on Tuesday that the Indian Cabinet had approved a bilateral labor agreement between the two countries. The Indian government has invited Fakeih to visit New Delhi to formalize the agreement.