INDIAN expatriates here were in for a disappointment when the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's first ever visit to the Kingdom scheduled for this month was shelved, as the premier is said to be recovering after his heart surgery. “The Prime Minister's visit has been deferred due to his health concerns. He was supposed to visit Riyadh and Jeddah this month. A function was also planned but no invitations had been sent out. We do not have any further information on this,” said B.S. Mubarak, consul for press, information and Haj at the Consulate General of India, Jeddah. “I hope that his post-operation recovery is swift so that he can reschedule his visit soon,” said Dr. Mohammed Najmuddin, geologist at the Saudi Geological Survey. Singh's visit to the Kingdom last November was also put on hold. “His visit should have come just after the visit of the Saudi King to India in 2006. But his visits appear to be jinxed. The Indian community was very happy as the Prime Minister is a leader of high caliber and the Indian authorities should have taken this opportunity to boost relations between the two countries in economy and trade,” Dr.Najamuddin said. He said if the Prime Minister could not come, the government should send another high-level leader, like Pranab Mukherjee, the acting Prime Minister. Singh, who had cardiac bypass surgery in 1990 and angioplasty in 2003, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Jan. 23 and underwent coronary artery bypass surgery on Jan. 24. “The news of the postponement has once again dashed the hopes of non-resident Indians here,” said Jamalullah Qadri, president of the Urdu Academy Jeddah, a social group. “In view of the current economic recession, many Indians are looking forward to hearing from the Prime Minister about plans to protect the savings of Gulf NRIs, following his assurances in the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention,” he said. About 1.7 million Indian expatriates live in Saudi Arabia. Common issues that draw the attention of any visiting Indian official include higher education and fees, low budget airlines, voting rights, need for a prompt response to NRI issues, and rehabilitation of repatriate Indians. “The issue of rehabilitation and welfare of NRIs when they return home should be addresed with a systematic rehabilitation scheme. With many expatriates losing their jobs, NRIs need protection and support from the Indian Government. Assistance for their resettlement through training and/or alternative employment is needed,” said Qadri. Azher Ali Zai, who works at Saudi Arabian Airlines in Jeddah, said he is confident of a positive outcome from Singh's visit, whenever it is scheduled to take place. “We will draw his attention to problems of a serious nature that we are facing, such as, the need for a special quota for NRI students, special accommodation for NRIs, an exclusive organization to provide legal protection to NRIs, etc.,” he said, adding that he would also request the opening of an Indian school of “high standards, especially in Makkah, as most schools here are purely business-oriented.” For Sultan Mazharuddin, management committee member of the International Indian School Jeddah, the deferral of the Prime Minister's visit was a ‘double disappointment'. “This is the second time that his visit has been delayed. There were many expectations about his trip. Any other Indian official visiting the Kingdom cannot fill his place,” he said. “With the Indian premier's visit to Saudi Arabia, the possibilities of bilateral trade for medium and small businesses were expected to get a boost, making the country more beneficial and favorable for Indian expatriates to live in,” said Zahoor Siddiqui, director of Al-Harthy Company. He said the Saudi economy is the only economy to have weathered the economic crisis, and hoped that on his visit, the Prime Minister would focus on trade and business opportunities. Singh is considered to be the architect of India's phenomenal economic growth in recent years. “He has taken India to a new level on the world economic stage. We await his recovery and visit. India has always been a time-tested friend of Saudi Arabia. Indo-Saudi relations reached a new level after the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to India in 2006. When King Abdullah called India his second home, we Indians were humbled. It will be a moment of great pride for us if our Prime Minister visits Saudi Arabia,” said Dr. Asar Khan, president of International Business and Trade of the A.K Saeed Group of Companies. On the commercial and economic front, he said, the Prime Minister's visit will open new areas of bilateral cooperation in fields of business, education, science and technology.
