Uzbekistan has repatriated 19,347 citizens from Middle Eastern countries as of 07:00 on March 8, according to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Officials said repatriation efforts are being carried out systematically and in stages with the involvement of diplomatic missions and relevant government agencies.
On March 7, nine flights from Saudi Arabia returned 1,680 Uzbek citizens, while two flights from the United Arab Emirates brought back 394 people. In addition, five citizens were repatriated from Iran.
Uzbek diplomatic missions in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, together with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, also evacuated the first group of 208 citizens from Doha.
The group departed from Riyadh International Airport aboard a Centrum Air flight and arrived safely in Tashkent at 05:40 on March 8.
Meanwhile, a second group of 126 Uzbek citizens has been formed in Qatar as part of the next evacuation stage. They were transported from Doha to Riyadh by embassy-organized buses and are expected to return to Uzbekistan on a charter flight scheduled for March 8.
Authorities noted that the repatriation operations are continuing as diplomatic missions coordinate the safe return of citizens from the region.
From March 1 to March 5, Uzbekistan evacuated 9,361 citizens from the Middle East. On March 7, the Ministry of Transport reported that more than 14,000 Uzbek citizens had already been returned, highlighting the scale of the repatriation effort.
