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Rabat – Around 30 Moroccan architects who were visiting the global exposition Expo 2020 Dubai are currently stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to closed borders.
Morocco decided to close its borders on November 30 following news about the worrying spread of Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant.
The decision caught many Moroccans abroad off guard, and some have since pleaded with Moroccan authorities to arrange for their repatriation.
According to the Moroccan newspaper Al Akhbar, the architects sent letters to the supervisory department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Moroccan Embassy in the UAE, but were unable to secure a flight back home.
The Moroccan government’s spokesman Mustapha Baitas reassured Moroccans that repatriation programs for Moroccan nationals are being planned.
“The government is determined to organize exceptional flights for people who did not have the chance to return to the country before the borders closed,” he affirmed.
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The Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc, has already announced it would be carrying special flights from Morocco to Belgium, Canada, Spain, and Italy between December 4 and 6.
RAM also confirmed that it would be preparing flights from Morocco to France, Spain, and Mauritania between December 7 and December 10.
Morocco’s government cited alarming reports surrounding Omicron in Europe and South Africa to justify the sudden travel restrictions.
Several countries took similar decisions, banning travel from countries with new COVID-19 variants.
Moroccan laboratories have already started research to determine whether the vaccines used in the country are effective against Omicron.
Originally scheduled to launch last year, the Dubai 2020 World Expo was delayed to take place from October 1, 2021 to 31 March, 2022 due to the health crisis.
The exposition featured a Moroccan pavilion aiming to promote Morocco’s strategic vision for a more sustainable future and to highlight its newfound global competitiveness.
