New Delhi: A total of 3,570 Indian citizens have died abroad so far due to COVID-19, spread over 70 countries. About one-third of those fatalities have been reported from Saudi Arabia.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told Parliament on Thursday that 1,154 Indians succumbed to the coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, 894 in the UAE, 546 in Kuwait, 384 in Oman, 196 in Bahrain, and 106 in Qatar.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, these six West Asian countries account for 70% of 12.6 million – which comes to 8.9 million — Indian citizens living abroad (NRIs).
The remaining 3.7 million Indians reside in around 200 other countries.
The minister said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that COVID-related deaths of Indians abroad were recorded in 70 different countries including Nigeria (31), Sudan (26), Malaysia (21), Uganda (18), Kenya (15) and Iraq (10).
Some of the other countries where Indians lost their lives to COVID are Egypt, France, Botswana, Indonesia, Malawi, Maldives, Spain, Ukraine, Zambia, and Afghanistan.
Expressing deepest sympathy with the families of COVID victims, the minister stated that missions/posts abroad maintained contact with the families and extended all possible help for transporting mortal remains of their close ones to India or for local burial, as per wishes of the families.
“Financial assistance for transporting the bodies to India or for local burials was provided from the Indian Community Welfare Fund when requests were received by Indian missions,” Muraleedharan informed.
