2.6 lakh passengers returned to India from West Asia since Feb 28: MEA
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the government on Wednesday said around 2.6 lakh people have returned from the region to India since February 28.
At an inter-ministerial briefing here on the West Asia situation, Additional Secretary (Gulf), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Aseem R Mahajan, said that on Wednesday, around 70 flights were expected to operate from various airports in the UAE to different destinations in India.
The flight situation is “reassuring,” he said. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal spoke about a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday.
“The two leaders discussed the current situation in West Asia. The prime minister reiterated India’s strong condemnation of all attacks on the UAE that have resulted in loss of innocent lives and damage to civilian infrastructure,” he said.
The two leaders agreed on the importance of “ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” Jaiswal said.
“Both leaders will continue to work together for the early restoration of peace, security and stability in the region,” the MEA spokesperson said.
This was for the second time Modi spoke to the UAE President since the US-Israel combine launched an attack on Iran on February 28.
Tehran has retaliated by attacking several Gulf countries hosting US military bases.
The Indian Embassy in Tehran is aiding Indian nationals, especially students, Jaiswal said. Many more Indians have expressed the wish to cross the Iranian border to go to Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said.
“Our embassy has issued an advisory and we appeal to all to follow them to ensure safe transit across Iran-Armenia and Iran-Azarbaijan borders,” he added.
