In the first-ever interview after the fake Twitter post impersonating an Oman Princess, Indian envoy to Oman Munu Mahawar has said that those trying to create differences between India and Oman will never succeed.
Speaking exclusively with WION's principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal from Muscat, Mahawar said that India-Oman ties will remain strong and expressed gratitude that Omani authorities acted swiftly. He also spoke on how the mission is reaching out to stranded Indians and is preparing a list of Indians who want to come back home.
Question: Role played by the Indian mission in Oman in taking care of Indian citizens? Many migrant Indians in Oman.
Munu Mahawar: We have a large Indian community in Oman. Of about 7.7 lakh Indians, most of them are blue-collar workers. They are vulnerable and they have been impacted hard by the crisis. To address the challenges faced by the Indian community, first of all, we are working closely with the government of Oman, to ensure basic requirements and the health needs of Indian community members are met. Oman is providing free testing and treatment to ex-pat community members also. We have reached out to the community, we have established 24*7 helplines, the community members are contacting us via phone, via emails, via Whatsapp messages and we are trying to resolve the issues. We are handling more than 100 queries every day, we have created a network of social workers, medical professionals, prominent Indians, I interact with community members regularly via video conferencing, we are also organising open house meetings via telephone during which any member of the community can contact me directly, we have created awareness among the community about the precautions they need to take regarding COVID and giving information in many Indian languages. We are also providing direct food and medical assistance to the community. We have created a network of social workers through which we have already provided food kits to over 10,000 needy Indians. The number of issues related to Indian schools, we have 21 Indian schools, in which over 46000 Indian students study, concerns were there related to school fee, concerns related to online classes. We have worked closely related to board of director to address those issues. We are collecting information related to those Indians who wish to travel back to India, once the lockdown is lifted. So, all in all, we have taken a range of measures, to address the challenges faced by the Indian community in Oman.
Question: How are India and Oman collaborating in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic?
Munu Mahawar: India and Oman are working closely to address the challenges of COVID-19. Our leaders have been in contact. PM Modi had a telephonic conversation with his Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in which his majesty assures, safety and well being of Indian nationals in Oman. Our foreign ministers have spoken, I have been in regular touch with the minister and senior officials of the govt of Oman. I would like to convey our deep gratitude to the govt of Oman for the measures they have taken to support the Indian community in Oman. Oman is providing free testing, and treatment and they have also provided food in the areas of strict lockdown. On our part, we have been facilitating the supply of food items and other commodities to Oman, via air and sea routes. We have facilitated the evacuation of Oman nationals. Recently, we agreed to provide HCQ as requested by Govt of Oman. Our 2 countries are working closely and our cooperation is in keeping with the strategic partnership we have.
Question: What do u think about the Oman model and have we shared any Indian model?
Munu Mahawar: I would say Oman's response to COVID-19 has been very effective, this is also evident from the fact that Oman is the least impacted country in the gulf, with about 2000 cases. Oman's response to cases has been quite similar to India's response. Like India, Oman decided to suspend international Air Travel very early and decided to put the country in lockdown. The lockdown in Oman will continue till May 8th, and they may decide to further extend it. Further recognising that the maximum number of cases in the Muscat area, they have isolated Muscat from the rest of the country. Travel in and out of Muscat is not possible. Oman recognised pressure on the health care system will increase as the number of cases increase. They have decided to put part of the health care workforce in reserve so that they remain available during the peak. We have been in close contact with the ministry of health and ministry of foreign affairs of Oman to share our experiences and as I mentioned earlier, India has agreed to supply HCQ to Oman as it had requested. In coming days we will remain in close contact with Oman to continue sharing our experiences.
Question: We saw an incident last week in which someone did mischief by impersonating an Omani Princess. We saw ur tweet too, and sudden spurt of such tweets. Your take?
Munu Mahawar: In recent days we have seen a number of instances of fake news or fake social media posts are being made to created differences between India and its friends. In the particular case, fake tweets were created impersonating the member of the Omani Royal family, her highness Dr Mona bint Fahad al said and certain very offensive comments about India were attributed to her. We were happy that Omani authorities acted swiftly and her highness issued a clarification swiftly and those behind such campaigns were exposed. I would like to say India and Oman enjoy a very special relationship and complete trust and mutual understanding between our 2 countries, those who are trying to create differences between us will never succeed, their efforts are completely futile and we are confident that the relations between India and Oman will remain as strong as ever.