PM talks to Romanian, Slovak counterparts, thanks them for evacuation aid

Prime Minister Narendra Modi particularly thanked Romania for permitting Indians to enter its territory without visas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to his Romanian and Slovak counterparts Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă and Eduard Heger, respectively, as India continued to use the two nations as land routes to bring back its stranded nationals from war-hit Ukraine.null

Modi thanked both Ciuca and Heger for their assistance in the repatriation process since Russia’s invasion of the east European country. According to a statement, he particularly thanked the Romanian PM for allowing Indians to enter the country’s territory without visas.

He thanked them for allowing special evacuation flights in their countries, which are being used to bring home stranded Indian citizens from Ukraine.

Further, Modi apprised Ciuca and Heger of the deployment of aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union law minister Kiren Rijiju in Romania and Slovakia, respectively, as special envoys to oversee the evacuation process over the next few days.

During his calls with the two leaders, Modi also expressed his anguish at the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and reiterated the need for a return to dialogue. “He also stressed upon the importance of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations,” a PMO statement said.

Written by Sharangee Dutta | Edited by Sohini Goswami, New Delhi