Dubai: Faced with mounting unemployment, Saudi Arabia is aiming at restricting the number of expatriates and their dependents to 20 per cent of the total population within 10 years, a move, which will have an adverse impact on nearly 1.5 million Indians working in the kingdom.

The manpower council, chaired by Interior Minister Prince Naif, which announced the decision, also said expatriates and their kins from any single country will not be allowed to exceed 10 per cent of the total number of expatriates.

Of the Saudi population of 17 million, between six and seven million are expatriates and their relatives, and the new decision would seek to cut the expatriates' numbers by half within 10 years. Indians will be seriously affected by the restrictions, as their numbers will be limited to less than 400,000 from the present 1.5 million.

The council will review the ceiling as well as measures taken to implement it every two years, its secretary general Abdul Wahid al-Humaid was quoted as saying by Saudi press agency.

Al-Humaid said he expected the decision would reduce the number of expatriate workers in the country gradually over the next 10 years and that more job opportunities would be created for Saudis as a result.

Majority of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia is in the private sector. The government recently reserved 22 job sectors in addition to 34 sectors already announced for its nationals. It also intends to 'Saudise' taxi driver jobs within two years.

Reserved jobs for Saudis include administrative managers and their assistants, procurement managers, secretaries, car showroom salesmen and public relations jobs.

PTI