Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the Saudi government for the generous assistance given to Indian workers during the amnesty period, which led to the repatriation of over 140,000 Indians back home.
The Labor Ministry intends to allow full-time Saudi employees to work on a part-time basis for other companies provided that the job duration does not exceed four hours a day, or 24 hours a week. Prospective part-time employees will have to seek their employers’ approval if the work is of a similar nature to their full-time job.
Saudi Arabia and India signed a landmark labor pact on Thursday in New Delhi that would provide protection for millions of domestic workers in the Kingdom and their employers.
As part of a comprehensive plan to streamline the domestic service sector, the Kingdom has decided to sign agreements with six labor-exporting countries to recruit domestic helpers.
A strong deterrent force under a unified military command of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be made up of 100,000 personnel including combat soldiers, National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah has announced.
GCC countries are planning to launch a European-style Schengen visa by mid-2014 to allow Gulf-based expats and foreign businessmen to move easily across the borders of the six-member bloc.