UAE is top destination for Indian job seekers, minister says

The Emirates heads a list of countries to which workers and professionals travel for work

The highest number of Indian job seekers select the UAE as their destination for employment. AFP

The UAE is the leading destination for Indians hunting for jobs overseas.

India’s External Affairs Ministry has released a list of the top five countries to which the highest number of workers and professionals travel for employment.

The UAE is ranked first, followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and Oman.

This information relates to data from 2016 to 2021 and was presented to the lower house of India's Parliament by V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs. Detailed figures were not available.

The upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai is set to make the Emirates an even more attractive proposition for those in search of a career path in the country.

Applications have been flooding in from around the globe for positions at the world fair, with applicants vying for operations, planning and communication roles at pavilions and across the site.

Some jobs are to begin as soon as the start of next month, while others will start a week before the doors to the Dubai South site open in October.

Recruitment experts and diplomats have said they are looking for people who can engage with visitors from around the globe.

Jobs at Expo 2020 Dubai:

The Indian expatriate community of more than 3.4 million is the largest in the UAE, with the biggest numbers from Kerala in southern India

The minister was responding to a question about measures taken by the Indian government to assist new job seekers, particularly young people who fall prey to illegal agents in India.

Consular and embassy officials have repeatedly appealed to workers to use eMigrate, an online portal with details of the registered recruiting agents approved by the Indian government.

Although India's government has warned strict action would be taken against agents involved in illegal recruitment within states in India, there have been cases of workers duped into paying large sums of money for low-pay jobs.