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Sushma Swaraj to visit Qatar, Kuwait from Oct 28

Agencies
October 27, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 27: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Qatar and Kuwait from October 28 to 31 in pursuit of India's objective of enhanced engagement with the Gulf region.

She will have engagements in Qatar on October 28 and 29 and Kuwait on October 30 and 31, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

During her visit to Qatar, Swaraj will interact with her counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister. She will also call on Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar. During her visit, she will also interact with the Indian community in Doha, the MEA said.

India and Qatar share millennia old historic multi-dimensional, relations.

The bilateral visit of the Emir of Qatar in March 2015 and Prime Minister of Qatar to India in December 2016 and that of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qatar in June 2016 have further boosted traditionally cordial and close ties between the two countries, the MEA said.

Qatar hosts about seven lakh Indians who form the largest expatriate community there. Qatar is a reliable energy partner, supplying more than 50 per cent of India's natural gas imports, it said.

India's bilateral trade with Qatar in 2017-18 was USD 9.9 billion, the MEA said.

The next leg of the visit would be to Kuwait, where Swaraj will hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait.

She will also call on the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and interact with the Indian community.

India and Kuwait have close and friendly bilateral relations. Kuwait is a reliable energy supplier to India and hosts about 10 lakh Indians forming the largest expatriate community. India's bilateral trade with Kuwait in 2017-18 was USD 8.5 billion, the MEA said.

This will be Swaraj's first visit as External Affairs Minister to both the countries.

The visit is in pursuit of India's objective of enhanced engagement with the Gulf region which is in India's extended neighbourhood.

It will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and will advance India's growing engagement with these countries in particular and the region in general, the MEA added.

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News Network
May 6,2020

A massive fire engulfed a residential tower in UAE's Sharjah last night. The building has been identified as one Abbco Tower in Al Nahda.

According to the latest inputs, Sharjah Civil Defence teams rushed to the spot and evacuated all residents. 

Firefighters managed to douse the blaze after several hours. The building in question is reportedly a 48-storey structure. Officials are yet to reveal the cause of the fire.

All residents of the building were evacuated while seven incurred minor injuries during the evacuation and were treated at local hospitals, reported the United Arab Emirates' local media.

More details are awaited as this is a developing story.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jun 17: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has allowed students still enrolled in universities overseas to obtain exceptions to attendance policies at their respective academic institutions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the ministry said that the move stems from its keenness to ensure the continuity of education for those students and to maintain effective channels of communication with them.

Students' applications for exceptions to academic attendance in universities due to Covid-19 should be submitted following the end of the academic year, and not after the academic semester, via the following email: [email protected].

In their email, students have to explain the reasons for the required exceptions and should include an official message from the university concerned.

Scholarship approval issued by the Ministry of Education for studying abroad should also be attached.

The student's score reports for the academic years spent in the host countries and the duration of each academic year should also be attached, in addition to an entry and exit report of the student from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.

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News Network
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: A heart-broken father who lost his 19-year-old son in a tragic car accident during Christmas last year has sponsored the repatriation costs of 61 Indians stranded in the UAE.

 The special flydubai repatriation flight, chartered by the All Kerala Colleges Alumni Federation (Akcaf) volunteer group, of which he is a member of, departed from Dubai to Kochi on July 25 carrying 199 passengers.

 On this particular flight, I sponsored 55 air tickets," said TN Krishnakumar, a sales and marketing director. He had lost his son Rohit Krishnakumar in a car accident, which also claimed the life of the teen's friend, Sharat Kumar (21).

"All passengers who were registered with the Indian missions were also asked to register on the Akcaf volunteer group website. Each passenger was further vetted, after which we made home visits to ensure that all the applicants were genuinely in need of financial support and repatriation," he said.

Commenting on what inspired him to dedicate himself to community work, Krishankumar said: "When a situation like this comes up, you realise there is no meaning in money. I invested everything I made into my son, and that had crashed in front of my eyes. He was a third-year medical student at the University of Manchester in the UK and had returned home for a vacation when the accident took place. Since then, I have been involved in a lot of social activities. If I do not do this, there is no meaning to my existence."

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Krishnakumar said the group has supported thousands of individuals in need of help. "We supported unemployed people with several hundred bags of grocery kits and other necessary items. We also supported Covid-19 patients by transferring them to the medical facility in Warsan, etc.," he said.

"I come from a very middle-class family. I got a scholarship to study in college, and I studied with the help of taxpayers' money. I have always wanted to give back to society. I have grown immensely in life and now is my time to give back.," he added.

Krishnakumar also sponsors the education of over 1,000 academically gifted school children in Kerala's government-aided schools. He is a life trustee at the College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Galaxy Charitable Trust and an active participant towards various educational causes.

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