NEW DELHI: Qatar is home to over 7 lakh Indians and is significant for India as it shares good bilateral ties. India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan, has on Sunday embarked on a two-day visit to Qatar.
He will meet his counterpart, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, speaker of the Shura council Abdulla Al-Ghanim and other dignitaries.
The minister will take part in labour day celebrations with blue-collar workers from India. Besides, he would have interactions with Indians working in community welfare, business, health, culture, education, engineering, accountancy and veterans too.
"The Indian community will host a reception and cultural event to mark his arrival," according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
Qatar is home to 7 lakh Indians and the bilateral trade crossed $15 billion in 2021-22. Bilateral relations – whether political, economic, defence, cultural and education – have been strengthened over the past few years.
Meanwhile, the India-Qatar joint working group in the field of employment held its seventh meeting in Delhi on May 4th and 5th. The meeting was chaired by Assistant Undersecretary for Indian Expatriates Affairs of MEA, Anurag Bhushan, and by Assistant Undersecretary from Qatar's Ministry of Labour Affairs, Mohammed Hassan al-Obaidi.
Both countries agreed to adopt an integrated approach to enhance the welfare of workers, including regulating the recruitment process, and strengthening cooperation to resolve issues of common concern within a specific time frame. They also agreed to work to integrate employment portals. The Qatari delegation had met Muraleedharan too during their visit here.
.