Accra, March 01, GNA – Seventeen Ghanaian students who are part of the first batch of 220 students expected to arrive in the country have touched down from Romania at the Kotoka International Airport.
Out of the 17 currently in the country, 16 of them came via Qatar Airways and another Turkish Airlines.
The Turkish Airlines aircraft, Airbus A330-303 landed at 0627 hours, while the Qatar’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, touched down at exactly 0730 hours.
The were among Ghanaian students stranded in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in that country.
Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Fatima Abubakari, Deputy Minister of Information, led a government delegation to welcome the students from Ukraine.
Some family members of the students waited anxiously to welcome their relatives, most of whom looked excited, as they underwent COVID-19 protocols.
The Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister who addressed the 17 students, sympathised with them and assuaged their fears amidst the turbulence in the war-stricken country.
He expressed appreciation to the leaders of the students who had worked closely with government to ensure that they were moved to various safe destinations and subsequently to Ghana.
Government, he said, would continue to work tirelessly to ensure that their colleagues, who were still in transit, were evacuated and brought to safety.
He said information reaching the Ministry was that “Ghana is the first country to be able to have evacuated her students and other compatriots from Ukraine.”
He said government had ensured that the students would reunite with their families as a meeting had been initiated at the behest of the Ministry later in the day.
Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said over 500 Ghanaians had managed leave Ukraine and other neighbouring countries particularly Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, and others were trying to cross over to Russian territory.
He said the Government had laid out plans to evacuate all Ghanaian students and nationals who were ready and prepared to come home.
He said: “We have liaised with Qatar Airways and Turkish Airline and they have agreed that any Ghanaian who has crossed to any of the countries where they operate will be flown home within the next couple of days,” he assured.
“Let’s remember them in our prayers so that the good lord would lead them to safe shelters and eventually back home to Ghana,” he said.
Nana Kwakyi Agyemang, Leader of the team of 17 and a fifth year student in Ukraine, thanked the Government and Embassies for their unrelenting support in the wake of the war.
GNA