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STATEMENT BY SHRI EDUARDO FALEIRO, COMMISSIONER FOR
NRI AFFAIRS, AT HIS PRESS BRIEFING (OCTOBER 16, 2007)
I shall be visiting the Gulf countries in the months
of November and December next to interact with Goan
emigrants and to meet officials of the local
Government dealing with questions of emigration at the
political and other senior levels. My tour to the
different countries of the Gulf region is being
organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and by
our Embassies in those countries. I will be
accompanied by the Chairman of the Overseas Employment
Agency of Goa, Vice Admiral (retd.) John d’ Silva and
the Director for NRI Affairs, Shri U.D. Kamat.
In the first leg of my visit to the Gulf region I
shall visit Kuwait from November 7-9 and Doha (Qatar)
from November 11-13. During my visit to Kuwait I shall
meet the Minister of Social Welfare and Labour of the
State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, hold
discussions with Kuwaiti officials, meet the community
organizations and other relevant organizations and
discuss matters concerning attestation, documentation
etc. with Al-Haqooq lawyers who manage the legal
affairs of our Embassy in Kuwait. I will also attend
the Goa Day celebrations organized by the Goan Welfare
Society on November 9 and participate in a seminar
arranged by the Society.
My visit to Doha (Qatar) will be on November 11-13 and
broadly on the lines of the visit to Kuwait.
The visits to Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat
will be held by the end of November and in December
next.
• The Report of the Global Goans Convention (Gomant
Vishwa Samelan) held last January has been released
today. It will help the Government to frame
appropriate policies for the welfare of non-resident
Goans. The Report is available free of cost to all
those who participated in the Convention or their
authorized representatives. Copies of the Report will
also be sent to our Embassies in countries with a
significant Goan population.
We have received several requests for participation
and financial support to Goan Conventions being
organized in different parts of the world. Last June,
the Goan Community in Portugal held their Convention
in Lisbon “The Goan Diaspora from Goa into the world”.
I could not attend this Convention due to other
preoccupations and at my request our Chief Secretary
and the Director, NRI Affairs, represented the State
Government and the Department of NRI Affairs on this
occasion. A sum of 5000 Euros was granted by this
Department as financial support to this Convention.
This Department will also provide some financial
support to the Conference “Goan Diaspora-between the
Home and the Host” being held on December 15 in New
Delhi by “Goenkarancho Ekvot”, an organization of the
Goan community in the capital.
Several NRG organizations across the world wish to
hold Conventions of the Goan community and seek our
support. Regarding such Conventions abroad it has been
decided that this Department will finance one such
Convention per year tentatively to the extent of Rs. 3
lakh subject to the following:
1. The Annual Convention should be held by rotation in
different continents and in a country where there is a
significant population of NRGs;
2. The local organization should hold the Convention
at a time when maximum attendance can be obtained in
that country;
3. The organization should be recommended by our
Embassy or High Commission in the respective country;
and
4. The programme of the Convention should be drawn in
consultation with this Office.
In view of our decision to support one NRG Convention
(Gomant Vishwa Samelan) every year abroad, we may not
hold such a Convention in Goa in future. It is felt
that such a Convention in Goa can be organized only at
the time of Christmas and the New Year, a time of
family get togethers and a pletora of other social and
cultural activities, and this makes it difficult for
our NRGs to attend the Convention in large numbers.
• During my visit to New Delhi last month I requested
Shri Vyalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian
Affairs, to invite Goan cultural troupes to perform in
Goa and elsewhere in the country. I mentioned to him
the group “Ekvott” based in Portugal which is of a
high quality. The Minister agreed. In case Ekvot or
other Goan troupes are interested in visiting India
they should indicate their interest to us at the
earliest so that we may finalize their tour in
consultation with MOIA. END |
