Ampareen defends her foreign tour

SHILLONG, Sep 17: Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday justified her recent official trip to Japan, saying she had gone there to check on the safety of nurses from the state working in that country.
Soundly dismissing allegations that her recent trip to Japan and Thailand were paid vacations, Lyngdoh said they turned out to be productive tours.
“It is important for us to know where we are sending our citizens and if some people think that it was a wasteful tour, they are entitled to do so but I don’t need a certificate from them,” Lyngdoh said.
She said Japan is strict about everything and when nurses from Meghalaya are engaged there, they have to be cautious and the rules.
Informing that Japan is seeking more nurses Meghalaya, she said she was pleased to learn that the state’s nurses were satisfied with their work there. According to her, 10 more nurses will be sent to Japan shortly.
“We may have to consider incorporating language skill in our nursing programme for the future,” she said while adding that anyone in the health sector needs to have basic knowledge of various languages.
During her visit to Japan, Lyngdoh met the Indian Ambassador of Japan to ensure that the Indian Embassy in Tokyo is aware of Meghalaya citizens living and working in Japan.
Referring to her visit to Thailand, she said that Thailand has some of the best health facilities and she had gone there to take stock of those facilities.