India, Qatar review welfare of workers in labour camps

India and Qatar have discussed the welfare of expatriate Indians in the Gulf nation, with particular focus on blue collar workers, an official statement said on Tuesday.

According to a ministry of overseas Indian affairs statement, in delegation-level talks of the joint working group of India and Qatar held in Doha on Monday, issues related to the well being and welfare of Indian nationals were discussed, "with particular focus on Indian workers".

"The Indian delegation also availed this opportunity to discuss some specific humanitarian cases," it stated.

The four-member Indian delegation was led by Mohanish Verma, protector general of emigrants and joint secretary in the ministry of overseas Indian affairs, at the third meeting of the Joint Working Group on Labour and Manpower Development.

The Qatari delegation was led by Saleh Saied Al-Shawi, director in the department of legal affairs, ministry of labour and social affairs.

Ahead of the talks, Qatar's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Abdulla S. Al-Khulaifi, received a call fromthe Ambassador of India to Qatar, Sanjiv Arora.

Al-Khulaifi conveyed his government's deep appreciation for the vital contribution of the large, accomplished and highly regarded Indian community to the progress of Qatar.

He also underlined the Qatar government's commitment to the ongoing  process of labour reforms in the country.

Of the over 500,000-strong expatriate Indian community in Qatar, most are blue collar workers involved in the construction industry. The Gulf nation is going through a construction boom as it prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.