DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s initiative Awdah helped 12,798 expatriates return home amid the coronavirus travel bans, state news agency SPA reported.
The program, which means return in Arabic, was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help stranded expats return to their home countries and received a total of 178,452 individual registrations between April 22 to June 3. Only those whose countries have agreed to receive them have been flown out.
Residents with exit and re-entry visas, final exit visas and individuals with visit visas are eligible for the service.
To register, a person must use the Absher platform to provide residency number, date of birth, phone number, city of departure and name of airport at home country, the report added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, the General Authority of Civil Aviation and other governmental organizations are working together to help stranded expats return home.
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Awdah’ initiative helps over 12,790 expats return home
https://arab.news/c7hsw
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Awdah’ initiative helps over 12,790 expats return home
- Residents with exit and re-entry visas, final exit visas and individuals with visit visas are eligible for the service
- People can register through the Absher platform
Saudi deputy foreign minister calls for Sudanese unity during meeting in Cairo
- Waleed Al-Khuraiji says a political solution to the civil war in Sudan must be based on respect for its sovereignty
- He rejects quasi-government formed by one of the warring factions in July, denounces external intervention in form of weapons supplies and foreign fighters
LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s deputy foreign minister, Waleed Al-Khuraiji, on Wednesday stressed the important need to maintain the territorial integrity of Sudan.
Speaking at the fifth Sudan peace coordination meeting in Cairo, he said a political solution to the civil war that began in April 2023 must be based on respect for Sudanese sovereignty and unity.
He highlighted the efforts the Kingdom is making in an attempt to ensure stability in Sudan, help reach a ceasefire agreement that ends the conflict, prevent the collapse of state institutions, and maintain the unity, territorial integrity and capabilities of the country, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Khuraiji also said that Saudi efforts to address the worsening humanitarian crisis caused by the war are continuing, in an attempt to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people.
It is important that the conflicting factions return to political dialogue, he added, as stated in the Jeddah Declaration of May 2023 and the short-term ceasefire deal that was agreed that same month.
The war in Sudan, between rival military factions the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, poses a threat to regional stability, Al-Khuraiji warned.
He rejected the quasi-government formed by the Rapid Support Forces in July last year as an obstruction to ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis, a threat to the unity and sovereignty of Sudan, and a risk to regional security and the safety of the Red Sea.
“The announcement of parallel entities outside the framework of legitimate institutions is worrying and disrupts efforts through the political track to solve the crisis,” he said.
The prevention of external intervention in the conflict, including illegal support in the form of weapon supplies and foreign fighters, is crucial for efforts to achieve a ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian operations, Al-Khuraiji added.
He also called for the establishment of safe corridors so that deliveries of aid can reach those in need, similar to a mechanism established in August last year at the Adre crossing on Sudan’s border with Chad.
