The Seventh Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Labour, Employment and the Development of Manpower between the Government of India and Government of the State of Kuwait was held virtually on 07 September, 2021.
His Excellency Shri Abbagani Ramu, Joint Secretary (Overseas Indian Affairs (OIA-1), Ministry of External Affairs led the India delegation; while His Excellency Mr. Mishal Ibrahim Al-Mudhaf, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consulate Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Kuwait led the Kuwaiti delegation.
The Indian delegation included representatives from OE & PGE Division, Gulf Division & CPV Divisions of the Ministry of External Affairs; joined by the officers from Embassy of India, Kuwait. The Kuwaiti delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Interior, Public Authority of Manpower and Domestic Labour Recruitment Department from Government of Kuwait.
The last meeting of the Joint Working Group was held in 2018. There are around one million Indians living in Kuwait, well represented in all professions and activities. Both sides reviewed all issues related to manpower and labour cooperation, including the matters related to domestic workers, Indian Engineers, and other Indian workers in Kuwait, aligning the emigration platforms of both the countries, recruitment of nurses, transfer of sentenced persons and cases of missing Indians in Kuwait. They also discussed issues related to return of stranded Indians to Kuwait.
Both sides agreed on faster implementation of the MoU on Cooperation on Recruitment of Domestic Sector Workers signed during the visit of H. E. Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India to Kuwait in June, 2021.
The report of the Joint Working Group on Labour, Employment and Development of Manpower will be submitted to the Joint Commission Meeting, to be headed by External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Minister of Kuwait, which is likely to be held soon. The Joint commission was established during the visit of H. E. Sheikh (Dr.) Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister of Kuwait to India in March, 2021, with the objective of rekindling the India-Kuwait bilateral relationship, especially in the context of the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kuwait. 6. JS(OIA-1) thanked the Government of State of Kuwait for hosting the Indian community in Kuwait. Both sides agreed on continuation of regular interactions to further discuss the issues in detail.