ABU DHABI - In a demonstration on UAE’s keenness on joint cooperation and coordination between countries to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, MoFAIC, has taken all necessary measures to facilitate the repatriation of citizens from brotherly and friendly countries who were unable to return to their homeland after the suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, in coordination with embassies and consulates accredited to the UAE.
Khalid Abdullah Belhoul, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated that following the decision to allow specific flights to pass through all UAE airports temporarily, 127 air repatriations of foreign citizens have taken place so far, including 22,900 repatriates, with 27 repatriations in the pipeline over the coming days.
He expressed appreciation for the priceless cooperation of several brotherly and friendly countries and for their efforts in ensuring the repatriation and return of their citizens to their homeland over the past two weeks. 9,098 citizens were repatriated to their homelands in East and West Asia, whereas the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Philippines and the Republic of Indonesia repatriated a total of 7,477 citizens. 8,710 people were repatriated to countries in Europe and in the European Union, including 7,071 repatriations to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
Belhoul added that that brotherly and friendly countries in Africa repatriated 1,009 of their citizens whereas the Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Republic of Sudan both cooperated in repatriating 852 of their citizens. 962 people were repatriated to North, South and Central America and to the Caribbean, with the United States of America, Canada and the Republic of Columbia topping the list of countries cooperating to repatriate a total of 890 of their citizens.
Belhoul also affirmed the evacuation of the equivalent of a total of 5,185 foreign nationals on board UAE national carriers, in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and with the cooperation of all the concerned entities in the UAE and abroad to ensure their safe return to their homelands, in line with the UAE’s long-standing humanitarian stance.
He also noted that 86 air and land repatriations of Emiratis from 43 countries have been completed, equivalent to the repatriation of 2,286 people, and 11 repatriations are under way and shall be completed within the next few days, to repatriate 755 Emirati citizens.
MoFAIC’s Undersecretary stressed on the keenness and follow-up of the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on the full progress of operations, within a series of ongoing measures the UAE rolled out since the crisis began, to ensure the safety of its citizens abroad and facilitate all procedures necessary to their repatriation to the UAE, in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority and with the cooperation of all the concerned entities in the UAE and abroad.
© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.
