A group of Indonesian sailors who were stranded in Dubai and recently repatriated home
"Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) on Sunday announced that 22,900 foreigners were repatriated through 127 land and air operations amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Dubai's Gulf News reported.
The Ministry also confirmed that 27 more repatriation operations are in the pipeline.
The report comes amidst calls from Indians stranded in the UAE and their families and various socio-political organizations in India for the central government repatriating Indians who wanted to return home for various reasons.
The central government has so far taken the stand that Indians abroad should stay where are for the time, until the situation in India is conducive for their return and adequate quarantine and health facilities are in place for the possibly large number of such returnees.
Last week, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation of UAE had informed that it was considering several options to restructure its cooperation and labour relations with countries refusing to receive their nationals working in the UAE private sector.
At present, the Ministry said that 5,185 foreign citizens have been returned to their countries on board the UAE's national carriers. The 14 countries that worked with the UAE for repatriation of their citizens included USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Algeria, Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, Colombia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, the Philippines and Indonesia,
The ministry also coordinated the return of 2,286 Emiratis from 43 countries, through carrying out 86 air and land repatriations. It intends to carry out 11 more operations shortly.
Breaking down the statistics, the Ministry also said that 9,098 were repatriated to eastern and western Asia, 8,710 to the European Union and Europe, 1,009 to Africa, and 962 travelled back to central, south and northern America, as well as to the Caribbean.
The repatriation of citizens was made after the ministry introduced a new service “Tawajudi for residents”, which was launched last March.
The new service was intended for residents with valid residencies and who are outside the country. This service aims to facilitate their safe return to the UAE in emergency situations.
This unprecedented step spurs from the keenness of the UAE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to ensure the health and safety of residents on its land and facilitate their return to the country in emergency cases, the Ministry added.