With over 10,000 Goans living in Qatar, which has been enveloped in a diplomatic crisis with its Gulf neighbours, a Goa MP wants the Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to ensure their safety along with the six lakh Indians working in the middle-eastern country.
In a letter written to Sushma, the State's lone Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik has also said that the non-resident Indian community in Qatar has helped in boosting the economy of the country and were in need of assistance due to the uncertainty in Qatar.
“In view of a serious situation developing in Qatar, India has to use diplomatic channels with Qatar in the interest of Indian population there. Since India is having a friendly relationship with Qatar, the present Government should put to trial the relationship and resolve the crisis,” Naik has said in the letter to Sushma.
“The whole country is deeply concerned on account of recent Gulf crisis due to Saudi-led grouping of Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and surprisingly, Maldives, which cut off diplomatic ties, as well as, civil aviation and shipping ties,” Naik said.
Hundreds of thousands of Indians in Qatar have been left in a bind after the crisis erupted in the region, after a number of countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and United Arab Emirates cut off diplomatic ties, as well as civil aviation and shipping ties with Qatar. They Persian Gulf nations have also accused Doha of backing Islamic terrorism.
“I have asked Sushma to protect the interests of 6.5 lakh Indians, including 10,000 Goans living and doing business in Qatar,” Naik told The Pioneer.
“People from India, particularly from Goa, have been of immense help to boost economy of Gulf countries including Qatar, and that, people from Goa have been opting for jobs in Gulf countries for several decades, and that it is the duty of Government of India to do the day-today monitoring of the interest of Indian population,” Naik further said.