Armen Martirosyan, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, has cautioned Indians against travel agencies engaged in trapping gullible youth on the false promise of arranging jobs in Armenia, claiming that Armenia’s economy has very little scope for accommodating low-skilled foreigners seeking jobs.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The number of Indians going to Armenia has seen a roughly 600-fold increase in the last two years. Official figures say that in 2016, 4,226 Indians went to Armenia, while in 2018, the total number hiked to 28,659. In close heels to this feat, earlier this year, Indian media was abuzz with reports of youths from Punjab stuck in Armenia.

The ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in India has urged Indian jobseekers to understand the human resource needs of Armenia before embarking on a trip to the country for a job. He was referring to a recent case in which four youths belonging to the Indian state of Punjab alleged that they were sent to Armenia on a tourist visa by fraudulent agents who promised them jobs in the country and that they were then trapped there without proper documents.

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"One must be aware of the fact that Armenia does not have a possibility of providing livelihood or jobs to low skilled human force. Youths in India must be aware of these facts and beware of the travel agents who take them with a promise of a job", ambassador Martirosyan told Sputnik.

In the month of February, four youngsters from Kapurthala district of India's Punjab pleaded on a viral video that they were sent fraudulently to Armenia by a nexus of seven travel agents. The accused agent had sent them to Armenia on travel visas after promising to follow up with work visas in December 2018. The youths were then allegedly trapped in the country without proper documents. Their return was facilitated only after a diplomatic intervention.

The controversy has prompted the government of Punjab to mount a crackdown on hundreds of agents running the nefarious trade of sending job seekers to foreign countries in lieu of large sums of money.

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"In a step to check the continuous exploitation of the youth dreaming of greener pastures abroad, the Punjab government has registered as many as 2140 cases against unscrupulous travel agents across Punjab", Indian daily Times of India reported.

When asked if he was aware of the tactic used by some Indian agents to project Armenia as a gateway to enter Europe, Ambassador Martirosyan said the idea is totally unfounded.

"Yes, I am aware of such a notion. But one must know that Armenian laws are same as in India. To go to Europe from Armenia is as tough or easy as from India. One must be clear on this", he said.