VK Singh to look after all Gulf issues

New Delhi: External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj declared that all the issues co-related with Indians in the Gulf will now be dealt by VK Singh, the MoS of her ministry.

Sushma Swaraj tweeted "All matters relating to Indian nationals in Gulf countries will now be looked after by my colleague @Gen_VKSingh."

The decision came after a few complaints from the Gulf countries that some recruiting agencies were duping Indians by promising lucrative jobs abroad.

In response to a plea by an Indian national from Saudi Arabia, Sushma Swaraj suggested him to hand over the name and address of his fake recruitment agent to VK Singh.

The external affairs minister tweeted "recruitment agent must secure your return or face arrest."

As per the study, around five million Indians temporarily or permanently live in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this month, Ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) was merged with the Ministry of external affairs.

Sushma Swaraj stated on January 7, "As minister for external affairs and overseas Indian affairs, I realized that substantial work of MOIA is done through our missions abroad," in which she added "Therefore, I proposed to honorable prime minister that MOIA should be merged with the ministry of external affairs."

The minister proclaimed "The prime minister has kindly accepted my proposal. So the MOIA will now be part of the ministry of external affairs."The MOIA, dedicated to the multitude of Indian nationals settled abroad, was established in May 2004 as the ministry of non-resident Indians' affairs. Later, it was renamed the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in September 2004.(IANS)