Sushma, Qatar discuss Indian workers |
Amid a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and four Arab nations, the welfare of Indian workers in the gas-rich Gulf nation came up for discussion during a meeting between Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in New Delhi.Bilateral issues, including welfare of Indian workers in Qatar were reportedly discussed. There are around 630,000 expatriate Indians in Qatar, many of whom are blue collar workers in that country`s construction sector. However, Sheikh Mohamed`s visit comes at a time when the Gulf nation is in a nearly three-month-old diplomatic standoff with a group of four Saudi Arabia-led Arab nations.Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 charging Doha with supporting extremist organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen, and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. To end the impasse, the four-nation group has set a list of demands that include Qatar ending support for the extremist groups, closing TV news channel Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base it hosts.
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