India-Saudi Arabia air bubble arrangement under discussion

Indian government is discussing air bubble arrangements with the Saudi Arabian government. The Central government informed the Parliament that arrangement between India and Saudi Arabia is under finalisation.
The Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, in a written answer to a question on the issue, said that the government has discussed finalisation of air bubble arrangement with Saudi Arabia. This will allow people from both the nations to travel without any issues during this time. He also informed that the finalisation couldn’t take place because of suspension of travel of Indian passengers to Saudi Arabia owing to rising cases of the new COVID variant.
The Minister further said that as the situation improves, the issue will be taken up with the Saudi Arabian government. According to reports, more than 7.16 lakh Indian workers came back to India from Arabia during the pandemic till now.
As of now, India has air bubble arrangements with 28 nations from across the globe. From Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India has travel arrangement will all thIndia-Saudi Arabia air bubble arrangement under discussionese countries.