UNB, Dhaka :
Over 400 Bangladeshis have so far safely crossed the Ukrainian border and reached its neighbouring countries, including Poland, according to the government.
The government of Bangladesh is arranging their repatriation and is in touch with relevant organizations for their return home.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam chaired a meeting on Sunday held among the relevant Ministries and Bangladesh envoys in Austria, Poland and Romania to discuss the ways for safe return of Bangladeshis from Ukraine and subsequent return to Bangladesh.
Till today, around 400 Bangladeshis have safely crossed the Ukrainian border and reached Poland, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday night.
Among them, 46 Bangladeshis are in temporary shelter arranged by the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw.
The rest of them are on their own arrangements as per their choice though they were offered shelter by the embassy.
The embassy is working to rescue and relocate 28 Bangladesh nationals as of now through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine.
The embassy is also working to evacuate Bangladeshis who are in jail or detained in Ukraine through International Organization for Migration (IOM), Ukraine.
Meanwhile, around 15 Bangladeshi students have arrived in Hungary who are now being looked after by the Bangladesh Embassy in Vienna.
The number is likely to go up in the next few days, said the MoFA. They are also willing to return to Bangladesh now.
Three Bangladeshis have so far entered Romania who are now being looked after by the Bangladesh Embassy in Bucharest.
Seven more Bangladeshis are expected to enter Romania soon. They are also willing to return to Bangladesh immediately, said the MoFA.
The government would arrange chartered flights to bring back Bangladeshis from Poland. Poland will allow Bangladeshis to stay for 15 days upon their arrival from Ukraine and the government of Bangladesh hopes to bring back its citizens much ahead of the 15-day timeline.
Earlier, Bangladesh asked its nationals stranded in Ukraine to contact the country’s diplomatic missions in the neighbouring European countries while Poland and Romania came forward to provide temporary shelters for Bangladeshis.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday issued helpline numbers for the stranded Bangladeshi nationals to help them get into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, all bordering Ukraine.
For Slovakia and Hungary, Bangladesh nationals have been asked to get in touch with the Bangladesh Embassy in Austria.
They can reach Rahat Bin Zaman, Deputy Chief of Mission on +43 688 60344492 and Jubayadul H Chowdhury on +43 688 60603068 in Vienna.
For Romania and Moldova, people in distress can get in touch with the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania, Bucharest: (i) +40 (742) 553 809, (ii) Mir Mehedi Hasan (tel & WhatsApp group) +40 (742) 553 809.
For Poland, they can contact the following people at the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw — Md Masudur Rahman, +48 739 527 722: Md Mahbubur Rahman, +48 579 262 403; MST Farhana Yesmin, +48 690 282 561; Billal Hossain, +48 739 634 125; and Md Rabbani, +48 696 745 903.
Bangladesh citizens carrying passports can secure a travel pass at the border to enter Poland without a visa, but they need to carry two colour passport-sized photos with them, the Bangladesh Embassy in Warsaw said in a notification.
Bangladesh does not currently have an embassy or a consulate in Ukraine. The country’s Embassy in Poland only acts as Ukraine’s de-facto diplomatic mission.
A team from the Embassy in Warsaw is working near the Poland-Ukraine border to assist Bangladeshi citizens wishing to enter Poland. The two countries share an over 500km-long border.
