“There is no need to evacuate Indians working and staying in Qatar as the situation there is normal,” said VK Singh, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament.
He also informed that there are nearly six lakh Indians working and staying in Qatar. The Minister’s response was given amid the boycott imposed by four Middle East countries on Qatar.
The Minister added that there has been no adverse effect on Indians living in Qatar.
A quartet of Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar.
While replying to another question, he said, “There has been a decline in the number of Indian workers emigrating to the Gulf countries for employment, attributing it to economic slowdown in those nations.
He said 7.75 lakh Indian workers emigrated to the Gulf nations in 2014, followed by 7.58 lakh in 2015. However, the figure dropped drastically to 5.07 lakh in 2016.
