Foreign Affairs Ministry targets mid-May completion of citizens’ repatriation

Dr. Shaikha Rana reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to its continued collaboration with the Kingdom’s foreign diplomatic missions in organizing the safe return of Bahraini citizens from abroad, through the International COVID-19 Repatriation Programme (ICRP).

Emphasizing this point, Dr. Shaikha Rana highlighted how the Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Taskforce, has successfully organized the repatriation of 3,800 Bahraini citizens from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran.

She added that the safe return of citizens will continue in line with the Kingdom’s established timeline, which ends in mid-May. Dr. Shaikha Rana detailed the extensive measures taken by the Ministry to contact Bahraini citizens abroad.

These include increasing call center capacity to ensure calls are answered at all hours of the day, updating and registering citizens’ data, and ensuring the smooth and safe return of citizens by organizing travel and accommodation.

Dr. Shaikha Rana highlighted the Ministry’s efforts to spread domestic awareness by contacting foreign embassies in Bahrain and notifying them of the precautionary steps and measures taken by the government to safeguard citizens and residents.

The Ministry has also translated all COVID-19 precautionary guidelines and measures into a number of languages, including English, Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, and Bengali.

Dr. Shaikha Rana further emphasized the Ministry’s continued coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the delivery of medicines and food products from various countries, to ensure supplies within the Kingdom remain abundant.