Rabat – Four members of Morocco’s Foreign Ministry’s crisis cell have received worried parents of Moroccan students stranded in Ukraine, to listen to their inquiries about the current situation in the eastern European country.
The parents asked questions about the measures Morocco had put in place to facilitate the repatriation of Moroccans from Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry officials briefed the parents about precautionary measures the government has taken since February 12.
Morocco’s foreign ministry has set up a crisis cell tasked with monitoring the crisis. The team evaluates potential threats facing Moroccans residing in Ukraine, to ensure their safety, according to a press release from the ministry.
The list of measures introduced by the ministry includes toll numbers to assist Moroccans to return home, providing them with details depending on the situation on the ground.
Morocco’s embassies in Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Austria are all currently working to acquire the necessary licenses to evacuate Moroccans in Ukraine who do not possess the required visas and vaccine certificates
Ahead of the escalation between Moscow and Kyiv, Morocco urged Moroccans to leave Ukraine. To achieve that goal, the government urged Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia to schedule repatriation flights.
Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia have so far scheduled two and three flights respectively to secure the return of 849 Moroccan students.
The embassy hotline received over 6,000 calls over the same period, 70% from Moroccans in Ukraine, and 30% from their families in Morocco.
Back in Morocco, the crisis cell is monitoring the progress of the Ukraine crisis to oversee the process of repatriation, in close coordination with the Moroccan embassy in Kyiv, according to the statement.
The crisis cell calls on Moroccans in Ukraine and their families to address any inquiries through two toll-free phone numbers set up back in 2018.
Parents present at the meeting were instructed to ask their children to abide by the precautions issued by the Ukrainian authorities to ensure their safety.
Moroccan students are advised not to leave their residency, safeguard identity documents, and communicate with the embassy and the crisis cell.
Given that Ukrainian airspace as maritime travel is closed, Moroccans are instructed to leave the country using land border-crossing points, indicates the statement.
Moroccan Students in Ukraine alone account for over 8,000.
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