Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, July 20 (IANS) The Kerala capital is set to host a two-day international conference beginning Tuesday on the global economic crisis, its impact on Gulf nations and its implications for migrant labour, including Indians, working there.
The event, which would be held at the Centre for Development Studies here, would focus on the slowdown of the growth rate of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies and its significance for the South Asian and Southeast Asian developing economies that are the main sources of migrant labour for the Gulf countries.

The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.

Sabu Aliyar, one of the organisers of the conference, said it would bring together consul generals of South Asian and Southeast Asian nations based in Gulf countries.

“The speakers in the conference include the consul generals and first secretaries from the South and Southeast Asian countries posted in the GCC, financial experts, economists and migration experts from South and Southeast Asian Countries, participants from state governments in India most affected by the crisis,” Aliyar told IANS.

South Asian expatriates in the Gulf are concentrated in Saudi Arabia (50 percent) and UAE (26 percent). Kuwait accounts for 11 percent, Oman seven percent, Qatar three percent and Bahrain two percent. Preliminary studies done on international migration have found out that the deepening of the crisis in GCC countries would have diverse impacts on migrant workers, their families and their home countries.

The conference would delve into questions like how the crisis will affect the demand for migrant workers and the strategies the migrants need to adopt to cope with the situation at the home country and at their place of work.

The conference is being held by the Centre for Development Studies with technical and financial support from International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Fund for Women.