India, UAE to hold high-level meet on workers' issues

Officials of India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will hold a high-level meeting to discuss workers' issues during Overseas Indian Affairs ministry secretary A.K. Agarwal's visit to the Gulf nation beginning on Wednesday.

The secretary during his four-day visit will discuss with senior officials of the UAE's labour ministry issues pertaining to recruitment and employment of Indian workers.

The visit is being coordinated by the Indian embassy in the UAE and the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

The entire Gulf region, where millions of Indians are working, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is a major source of India's foreign exchange earnings.

Agarwal will call on the UAE's Culture, Youth and Community Development Minister Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. He will also visit the Indian Workers' Resource Centre (IWRC) in Dubai.

The IWRC, run by the Indian embassy in the UAE, provides information, guidance and counselling to Indian citizens in distress through a 24x7 helpline and a walk-in counselling centre.

Agarwal will also visit the industrial city of Abu Dhabi and a labour camp in Sharjah to meet Indian workers, the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The secretary will meet foreign employers and interact with representatives of registered Indian associations in the UAE to brief them about the ministry's initiatives and schemes for engagement with the Indian diaspora.