Seeking to boost India's ties with the Gulf, President Pratibha Patil will embark on her first visit to the region tomorrow that will take her to the United Arab Emirates and Syria.
During the nine-day tour, Patil will visit Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE and will later go to Damascus in the first visit by an Indian President to Syria.
Flying to Abu Dhabi tomorrow, the highlight of the President's visit to the UAE will be launching of an Indian Workers Resource Centre designed to provide a 24-hour helpline and counselling services to workers from the country who are in distress.
UAE has the largest expatriate Indian community--1.75 million whose contribution for the development of the country was widely appreciated.
Both the UAE and Syria support the Indian position on Kashmir issue and back New Delhi's quest for a permanent seat in UN Security Council.
The 24-hour helpline is being started by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) to deal with problems faced by Indian workers as five million NRIs live in the Gulf region.
The helpline would facilitate early succour to distressed employees. The Ministry of External Affairs and the MOIA are organising a meeting here of the Heads of Missions in the Gulf region by the end of this month.
Patil, who is visiting the UAE at the invitation of its President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will be meeting the top leaders in that country. Apart from Abu Dhabi, she would travel to Dubai and Sharjah.
Accompanied by a business delegation, the President would be addressing the captains of business and industry in the UAE.
The Gulf country has emerged as the top destination for India's exports with 13.41 per cent share of country's total export in 2009-10. It also ranks among the top five suppliers of crude oil to India.
In the second leg of her tour, the President will visit Syria from November 26 to 29 at the invitation of President Bashar Al Assad.
During her talks with Syrian leaders, the President will discuss regional and international issues including the Middle East peace process.
Assad had paid a state visit to India in June 2008.
India's engagement with Syria in hydrocarbon sector has been rewarding and state-owned OVL has investments in Al-Furat Petroleum Company which has struck oil in one block.
