The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vincent Bagiire has revealed that government is taking steps to ensure the safe and secure evacuation of Ugandans stranded in Israel and Iran through coordination with accredited diplomatic missions.
“Using our established evacuation plan under such circumstances, we have registered Ugandan students in Iran and received information on Ugandans stranded in Israel from parents, relatives and concerned citizens” he said.
Mr Bagiire added, “We have engaged relevant authorities in the Islamic republic of Iran to ensure the safe passage and evacuation of our nationals from the conflict affected areas. On this note, we are glad to report that 48 Ugandan students are being safely evacuated from Tehran”.
Mr Bagiire made the revelation through a statement released by the ministry Wednesday noting that they have communicated to governments of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Jordan that border both Iran and Israel to allow Ugandans being evacuated to be accorded gratis visas on arrival.
“We have communicated to our embassies in the region, namely Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where our evacuees may eventually end up to offer the necessary consular support. The respective embassies will dispatch officers to receive these evacuees and process their return to Ugandan through these neighbouring countries” he said.
Mr Bagiire noted that due to Iran and Israel’s indefinite closure of their airspaces, current security situation and dynamics on ground, there are still challenges and delays in securing appropriate transport for all distressed Ugandans.
“The ministry is doing everything within its means to ensure that all the stranded Ugandan nationals are accorded safe and secure transportation out of the affected areas” he said.
