State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Sunday urged the Bangladesh nationals to get registered as the evacuation will begin within a couple of days with support from Indonesia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
“We think there are 1500 Bangladesh nationals in Sudan, and so far, 700 of them have registered,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging the remaining Bangladesh citizens to get registered soon through available means.
At first, the Bangladeshi nationals will be taken to Port Sudan from Khartoum by buses on May 2, and from there they will be taken to Jeddah by ships.
He mentioned that it is a twelve-hour voyage from Port Sudan to Jeddah Port to cross the Red Sea and later within the next 48 hours they will be brought back to Bangladesh, mainly through Jeddah.
“Instructions have been made to onboard those Bangladeshis immediately who have passports. The individuals who do not have passports will be given travel documents and they will get the next available ships as there will be several Saudi ships,” said the State Minister, thanking the Indonesia and Saudi authorities for their support.
The state minister briefed the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the current situation in Sudan and the evacuation of Bangladesh citizens.
Around 35 Bangladesh nationals safely left Sudan so far, he said.
Before the meeting, he had an inter-ministerial meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the relevant senior officials.
“We hope we will be able to bring them back quickly who are already registered,” Shahriar said, adding that a representative from Biman Bangladesh Airlines was present at the meeting.
He said the national flag carrier has made preparations to bring the Bangladeshis from Jeddah and other cities, if necessary, through regular flights.
“They have preparations for operating special flights, too if required,” said the State Minister.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Khartoum has already arranged nine buses to take the Bangladeshi nationals to Port Sudan from Khartoum and adjacent cities and a team from Bangladesh’s Consulate General in Jeddah will reach there to assist them.
All the Bangladeshis, stranded in Sudan, will be taken to Port Sudan by May 2.
Earlier, on April 25, State Minister Shahriar Alam said a decision had been made to evacuate Bangladeshi nationals from Sudan through other countries.
“The Bangladesh Embassy in Khartoum has already started spreading this message among the Bangladeshis living there,” he wrote on Facebook.
The state minister urged the Bangladeshi nationals in Sudan to follow the instructions provided by the embassy and complete registration.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation in Sudan a “catastrophic conflagration” that could engulf the whole region.
