Myanmar to bring back 1,800 more citizens stranded abroad

Myanmar nationals queue before checking-in for a special flight to Yangon after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against Covid-19 at Anna International Airport in Chennai on May 24, 2020. - AFP

YANGON (Xinhua): Arrangements are underway by Myanmar authorities on repatriation of about 1,800 citizens stranded abroad by relief flights soon, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Xinhua on Wednesday (July 15).

Due to the suspension of international commercial flights during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Myanmar government has been repatriating its citizens stranded in foreign countries, in cooperation with the authorities concerned.

"We are planning to bring about 1,800 nationals by 13 relief flights in three weeks starting Tuesday," said the official from the Consular and Legal Affairs Department under the ministry.

Myanmar nationals will arrive from five countries -- Malaysia, Singapore, Jordan, Australia and South Korea this week, the official said.

Minister U Kyaw Tin for International Cooperation recently said that the repatriation programmes need to be adjusted with the capacity of quarantine facilities, and the national-level Central Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of Covid-19 has recently limited only 700 nationals to be brought back home in one week.

So far, over 8,000 Myanmar nationals stranded in foreign countries and regions have been repatriated by 56 relief flights, the minister said. - Xinhua