Sweden has an emergency team on site in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh - to help stranded Swedes.
– A team of three consular officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has traveled to Riyadh, says Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
This is how countries help their citizens. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has entered a state of emergency and now has an emergency team from Sweden in place in the region.
Over 4,000 Swedes are in Doha or Dubai, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The emergency team is in Riyadh and will also try to get to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
– Yesterday, we already sent Swedish reinforcements to the region to increase our freedom of action and ensure long-term sustainability, says Malmer Stenergard.
The team's task is primarily to ensure consular support when the airspace opens properly, for example, to ensure that passports are issued to Swedes.
– At the moment we are not ruling anything out, but as long as the airspace is limited and open, it is difficult. Trying to move in other ways is also associated with danger and that must be taken into account, says the Foreign Minister.
S leader Magdalena Andersson says at a press conference on Wednesday that the government is doing too little to help Swedes.
– The Swedish government doesn't seem particularly interested here, says Andersson.
More countries have begun to assist in the evacuation of their citizens from Middle East.
France – charter plane and consular teams
Has begun organizing evacuation efforts for its citizens and is planning charter flights to bring back particularly vulnerable people from the region. It has deployed consular teams at borders and transit points to help French people get out through neighboring countries when flights cannot be used, reports Reuters.
President Emmanuel Macron has said that the first two evacuation flights have already landed in Paris as part of the operation.
Germany – considering state flights and military transport
Germany states that they will also use commercial airlines and possibly charter flights to help German citizens and particularly vulnerable groups leave the Middle East.
The German government is also discussing the possibility of using state-owned aircraft or, ultimately, military transport if necessary, writes Reuters.
Germany has specifically announced that flights from Riyadh and Muscat may become available, especially for vulnerable people.
Norway – sending crisis teams
On Wednesday morning, information emerged that the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sending an "emergency team" to Dubai to help Norwegian citizens.
– This is a serious crisis that also affects Norwegian citizens in the region. I have great understanding that this is a difficult situation for many. To ensure that we can offer help and support to those affected, we are now sending this team to Dubai, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, to Daily Newspaper.
Italy – thanks the Italian Embassy
A first charter flight carrying 127 Italian citizens stranded in Oman, or relocated there from Dubai, landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport late on Monday. Passengers arriving in Rome credited the Italian embassy with helping them return, the BBC reports.
Spain – the evacuation has begun
Spain has begun evacuating its citizens from the Middle East, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday. The evacuation is being carried out through a combination of military airlifts, cooperation with civilian airlines and by land, often in coordination with other EU countries, the site writes ShowHq.
USA – urges citizens to leave
The US State Department has urged Americans to immediately leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, but has not yet deployed specific flights to help.
Australia – 115,000 Australians fixed
Australia is in talks with airlines to help the 115,000 Australians stranded in the Middle East. But Foreign Minister Penny Wong said evacuation could be difficult while much of the region's airspace remains closed, reports BBC.
United Kingdom – first flight tonight
The British government has chartered a commercial flight from Oman to help British citizens who want to leave the Middle East.
The flight is scheduled to leave Muscat late Wednesday night and will take the most vulnerable people first, writes BBC.
Slovenia – loose bus
Slovenia is one of the countries that has already evacuated a number of its citizens. The Slovenian government says it has organised bus trips with police escort from Dubai to Oman for onward travel home, reports SVT.
EU – helped with money
The EU has assisted both Italy and Slovakia here after they asked Brussels for help with funding, writes Reuters.
Source: Expressen.se
