Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has revealed 62 Maldivian students have been repatriated from Saudi Arabia, as part of efforts to repatriate locals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to PSM News, Foreign Minister Shahid said a total of 62 students were repatriated via the national airline of Saudi Arabia on June 25. He added although the government had tried to repatriate all Maldivian students currently in Saudi Arabia, some of the students were not permitted to leave due to the detection of COVID-19 cases from their university.
The government of the Maldives has been working with the relevant authorities to repatriate local students stranded abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, over 2,300 Maldivian students have been evacuated from abroad via different repatriation flights.