This afternoon, a commercial jet from Saudi Arabia brought the first group of 54 Bangladeshi nationals who were evacuated from Lebanon to Dhaka.
At Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), they were greeted by Dr. Asif Nazrul, adviser for overseas employment and expatriates’ welfare.After stopping in Jeddah for transit, the first group—26 adults, 20 women, six kids, and two infants—arrived at the airport at approximately 5:30 p.m.
They set out from Beirut on Sunday at 10:50 p.m. local time, arrived in Jeddah at 8:20 a.m., and then left Jeddah again at 1:20 p.m. local time for Dhaka.
Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain earlier informed the media that the government has initiated the repatriation of documented Bangladeshi nationals from Lebanon.
He noted that limited seat availability on flights from Beirut has restricted the number of returnees in this initial phase.
“Given the capacity constraints, we are exploring options to transport a larger group by sea to Turkey, from where they can fly to Bangladesh,” he said.
The Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment ministries in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are in coordination to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis affected by the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.About 70,000 to 100,000 Bangladeshi nationals are now living in Lebanon. But only about 1,800 have expressed their interests to back home and out of them about 160 have the necessary legal documentation for repatriation.
The repatriation process is complicated for many reasons including lack of proper documentation, which is required to obtain exit clearances and pay associated fees, according to the foreign ministry officials.
Earlier, Bangladesh Embassy in Lebanon issued a notification encouraging interested nationals to enrol their names for repatriation.
