Representational pic. File

In a show of expanding interaction with India, Saudi Arabia conducted a fortnight-long celebration of Indian culture as part of the annual Riyadh Season festivity in Riyadh. The Indian segment of the Riyadh Season, a mega tourism event was conceived as a branch of the Global Harmony Initiative of the Saudi government.

The celebration of India’s diversity and pluralism was marked by musical evenings, outdoor culinary events, and visits by Indian performers and sportspersons. The rare celebration was led from the Indian side by Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan, the Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia who described the event as an “unforgettable experience”. The festival organised at the Suwaidi Park was attended by large number of visitors which included Saudi and South Asian guests. Saudi Arabia at present hosts around 2.4 million expat Indian workers.

The Indian community in Saudi Arabia has grown over the years and is now second after Bangladesh which has the largest number of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia with nearly 2.7 million. Saudi government has introduced several measures including wage protection system and background check of employers to ensure hassle-free working condition for expat workers in the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia, an energy giant and one of the major suppliers of energy to India is diversifying its economy and is expected to emerge as a tourism magnet of the region in the coming years. As part of the programmes, Saudi authorities showcased ongoing environment conservation projects that will launch little explored tourism spots of the Saudi Red Sea coast as well as ancient trade routes of the country on the tourism map of the world. These destinations are expected to draw tourists from India in the near future.

The Indian cultural festival came to an end on Sunday (October 21, 2024) when cricketer Sreesanth was the star invitee of the Saudi government. The underlying theme of this year’s Riyadh Season – was the pace of social and cultural changes that are sweeping Saudi Arabia’s tradition-bound society. The change in the Saudi society was reflected during the event with the widespread participation of Saudi women in various parts of the festivity.

The Saudi initiative to celebrate diversity and harmony was mixed with the regional developments. In the backdrop of the cultural programmes and visit by an Indian media delegation, the Saudi Deputy Minister of political affairs Saud Al-Sati flew to New Delhi and held talks with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday (October 19, 2024) and Saturday (October 20, 2024). The two delegations also held the second meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Cultural and Social Affairs on October 18.

“During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them in various fields. They also tackled regional and international developments and issues of mutual interest,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced after the discussion in New Delhi. Saudi Arabia has been engaged in finding a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict which has led to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman visited Cairo last week and held talks with President El Sisi. The region is also facing tension because of the hostilities between Israel and Iran which had fired hundreds of missiles at Israel after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli bombing in Beirut.

The season of  engagements in Saudi Arabia will continue throughout the winter of 2024 as the Riyadh Season is scheduled to be followed by the Saudi exhibition for innovation, technologies, infrastructure and services which will begin here in the first week of November.

File image used for representative purpose only
| Photo Credit: Reuters

With a series of digitally enforceable measures and platforms, Saudi Arabia is getting ready to ensure a more secure working condition for foreign workers, including those from India.

A group of officials from the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry here on Thursday presented the Saudi plans for meeting the Vision 2030 of the Saudi government and said the Kingdom’s plans regarding the expat workers would secure workers’ rights and cut down on illegal immigration.

Also Read:Will the new Saudi law help migrant domestic workers? 

The new labour rules in Saudi Arabia — under a digital platform called Musaned — will benefit at least 10 African countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Egypt and Kenya as well as nine Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Under the Musaned platform, foreign workers in the domestic (household) work sector can check the existing employment contracts and follow updates in a dedicated Musaned labour app. This system allows foreign embassies to have “view access” on the system on “all the details related to their citizens working in Saudi (employer name, location, endorsed contract.”). Allowing the foreign missions a “view access” is aimed at resolving labour disputes more efficiently.

Wage protection system

The Musaned platform can be linked with contract insurance and health benefits. The officials said the Musaned platform would protect human rights and provide “stable working environment” for both the employee as well as the employers. The most important feature of the Musaned platform, according to the officials, is that it provides a “wage protection system” by following the employers’ obligations to pay the monthly wages for the workers. The digital platform can track financial transactions between the employers and the foreign workers, thereby ensuring the employers will fulfil the contractual obligations towards the foreign workers.

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan provide the largest number of workers who serve in the domestic and private labour sectors of Saudi Arabia. With 1.4 million workers, Indians hold the second position in the Saudi labour market. The first position is held by Bangladesh that currently supplies around 2.7 million workers to the Saudi labour market. According to the latest data supplied by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Pakistan has supplied around 2.1 million workers for the domestic households and private sectors. Labour force from Nepal, Indonesia, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Egypt and Uganda are some of the other countries whose labour forces in the Saudi market will also benefit from the newly introduced platforms and schemes.

The Musaned platform will also benefit in settling of labour lawsuits, said the officials here. The Hindu was told that for the period of 2021-24 there have been around 12,649 labour lawsuits involving Indian workers in the domestic (household) sector of Saudi Arabia.

One of the most important features of the Musaned system is that this will allow the Saudi government to check background of employers more effectively and ensure protection of workers’ rights. While this system will ensure digital checking of the crime records of the employers, this will also allow similarly enforceable measures that will prevent arrival of illegal immigrants into Saudi Arabia.

(The correspondent is in Saudi Arabia on the invite of the Saudi government for the Riyadh Season 2024 festival of tolerance and culture.)