Thirteen Moldovan citizens repatriated from Gaza Strip

Chisinau, 26 May /MOLDPRES/ - As a result of the registration of requests by Moldova’s citizens from the Gaza Strip at the Embassy of Moldova in Tel Aviv, the crisis cell from the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry (MAEIE) elucidated, along with the competent national institutions, Moldova’s embassies in Tel Aviv, Ankara, Kiev and the Odessa-based consulate, the details of an operation of repatriation of 13 Moldovan citizens from the Gaza Strip through the border crossing point Rafah to the Arab Republic of Egypt. 

According to the MAEIE press service, the evacuated Moldovan citizens were provided with transport means to Cairo, health insurances, food, as well strictly necessary products, in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in the Arab Republic of Egypt. On the Rahaf – Cairo route, the security of the citizens of Moldova and Ukraine was ensured with the support of the Egyptian authorities.    

Moldova’s diplomacy undertaken the needed approaches for the urgent issuance of travel documents, making of PCR tests, necessary for Moldova’s citizens to enter Egypt and respectively, to continue their movement by a special aircraft, made available by the government of Ukraine. 

The crisis cell of the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry initially administered a list of 31 people who wanted to return to Moldova, with 150,000 lei allocated from the Intervention Fund for the evacuation mission. A draft to this effect was approved at a 19 May cabinet meeting.    

The arrival of the group of citizens is scheduled to take place on 27 May onboard of a coach made available by the government on the Kiev-Chisinau route.  

The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry and the country’s diplomatic missions maintain constant relation with the authorities of the states involved in the repatriation operation, in order to carry it out in good conditions.  

The head of the Moldovan diplomacy, Aureliu Ciocoi, offered thanks to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on behalf of the Chisinau authorities for the assistance provided by Ukraine in the procedure of repatriation of Moldovans from the Gaza Strip.  

Moldova’s Embassy in Tel Aviv keeps a permanent dialogue with the citizens who did not want to leave the Gaza Strip within this operation.  

In this respect, MAEIE recommends that the citizens from the region, who have not yet registered their presence, contact the diplomatic mission to transmit their own coordinates, so that, if an emergency occurs, they can benefit from the authorities’ assistance, at request.  

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