PM for cooperation with Gulf nations to ensure stability

Ammar Zaidi

Muscat, Nov 9 (PTI) Concerned over criminal and terrorist
activities in India and the oil-rich Gulf, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the two sides should work
closely to ensure "a stable and prosperous region".

"Piracy, criminal activities and terrorism on our seas
and land threaten the Gulf countries and India as well,"
Singh, on his maiden visit to the region, said addressing the
Indian expat community here on the second day of his three-day
visit to Oman and Qatar.

The Gulf region is part of India's "extended
neighbourhood," and the largest source of the country's energy
supplies, Singh said.

"The Gulf region is an area of great importance to India.
It is part of our extended neighbourhood, and home to five
million Indians. It is the largest source of our energy
supplies," he said.

The Prime Minister, whose first stop on the visit was
Oman, last evening held delegation level talks with Deputy
Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd Mahmoud Al Said. He met the
nation's Sultan Qaboos bin Said this afternoon.

He said "there are many reasons for us to work closely
together with Oman to ensure a stable and prosperous region."

Lauding the contribution of the Indian expat community,
Singh said annual remittances from Oman to India were more
than USD 780 million.

"This is a reflection of your ties with the motherland
and your confidence in India," Singh said.

The Government, he said, was alive to the welfare of the
non-resident Indian community citing the memorandum of
understanding with Oman on labour mobility, protection and
welfare of workers signed on Saturday.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is in the process
of establishing Overseas Indian Community Welfare Funds in all
Indian Missions in the Gulf, besides the Overseas Workers
Resource Centre, a toll free helpline, has been established
for Indian workers in the Gulf, Singh said.

An Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre provides
opportunities for expats to invest in India.

The Prime Minister said destinies of the Gulf countries
and India are closely interlinked, with large number of Indian
expats based in the region acting as a "bridge between us".

"We have had a tradition of trade and civilisation
contracts through the sea over many centuries. The large
Indian community in Oman (numbering over 550,000) serves as a
bridge between us, contributing to wealth and prosperity for
both Oman and India," Singh said.

India, he said, was undergoing a major transformation.
"Our economy is expanding rapidly. New opportunities for our
youth are emerging every day. Our Government has embarked on
the largest education, social welfare, skill development and
employment generation programmes in the history of our
country."

India's total non-oil trade, which was less than USD 200
million in 2000, has gone up seven fold to around USD 1.4
billion this year and Singh projected it to go up to USD 2
billion in near future. PTI ANZ
SAK
NNNN