KUWAIT, Sept 7 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti government is keen on addressing problems of members of the Indian community and maintaining their rights, Indian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Vijay Singh said Wednesday.
Singh, at a press conference in the Indian Embassy, said he met with a large number of the Indian community members in Kuwait and all "emphasized that their problems are easy to solve and could be settled with the Kuwaiti authorities here." He said he met with First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Planning and Development Hind Al-Sabeeh.
They discussed the Indian workers' conditions in Kuwait and "their problems either in the delay of their salary or any other issues," he said, but added that the Kuwaiti officials promised to address these issues.
He said there were around 900,000 Indians working in Kuwait, of them 29,000 have problems with their sponsors, and the Indian government was ready to bring them back to India.
Singh's visit is the third leg in the region after Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He said the Indian community has been living in Kuwait for decades, and the two peoples established business relations.
"There is a project that will be launched in India soon to prepare the workers before sending them to any country in order to avoid problems, including describing the Indian workers are disqualified," he said.
Singh said the Indian government set a law that banned an unmarried woman, who was below 30 years of age, to work abroad except with approval of government and relevant authorities.
The law, he added, would not allow nurses to work abroad but through official authorities.
Singh said the Indian embassy was closely working with the Kuwaiti authorities to address problems facing the Indian workers. (end) hrz.bs