Indian Embassy shifted from Yemen to Djibouti, govt informs LS

ImageCourtesy: ndtv.com

The worsening situation in Yemen led to the shifting of the Indian Embassy in Yemen to Djibouti, the government informed the Loksabha on Monday, after he successful evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in war-broke Yemen.

An operation named ‘Raahat’ was launched under which 6,688 people were evacuated of which 4,741 were Indians and the rest 1,947 were foreign nationals external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said in a suo motu statement.

“I am glad to inform this August House that operation ‘Raahat’ conducted for the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Yemen has been a resounding success, well-acknowledged by the international community. We not only managed to safely evacuate 4,741 Indians but also 1,947 foreign nationals from 48 countries till 18 April under most difficult circumstances,” she said. India’s approach in the evacuation process has been guided by the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ (meaning the the whole world is one), Swaraj said. When asked to give details about the evacuation process and recent developments, she said,”In view of the worsening security situation in Sana’a and after the successful conclusion of the evacuation process, we have relocated our Embassy to Djibouti on April 15.”

The Indian Embassy would continue to function from Djibouti till the worsening conditions in Yemen resume to normal, she added.

India had received formal requests from 33 countries, including some neighboring and western nations for assistance. “We responded positively to these requests to the extent possible based on ground realities and helped nationals of 48 countries in evacuation,” Ms. Swaraj said. The countries that India assisted Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Canada, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Myanmar, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, New Zealand,Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Somalia, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, the US, the UK Uzbekistan, the UAE, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.

2,527 Indian nationals belonged to Kerela, 427 from Tamil Nadu, 368 from Uttar Pradesh, 293 from Maharashtra,219 from Bihar, 195 from West Bengal and 180 from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh besides other states.

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Shruti Dabholkar is a young and an aspiring journalist who covers political news on the national front. She is an ambitious and desiring girl who finds politics interesting. She writes articles for Spectralhues. She can be followed on Twitter: @Shruti_d9.