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“I would say 70 to 80% of Indian community there will be adversely affected,” said Talmiz Ahmad, the former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. The size of the Indian community in Saudi Arabia and the UAE is three million and 2.8 million, respectively, he said.
Of them, the lower-middle-class and middle-class sections will get affected the most as they are already feeling the pressure on account of high cost of living, Ahmad said. “This is on account of rent, medical expenses, school fees, transport and high cost of essential items. Therefore, cost of living has gone up quite significantly in the last two years,” he said.
The adverse impact on the labour community which is provided accommodation by the employer and blue-collar workers who are “protected” by their companies would be comparatively less, he said. “As it is, the cost of living there (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) is quite high,” he said. “Obviously, the low paid Indian expatriates will be adversely affected.”
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