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Saudi Arabia, Turkey have identical views on regional conflicts

February 15, 2017

Riyadh, Feb 15: Ties between the Kingdom and Turkey are set to scale new heights as their interests align on key regional issues following talks between King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here Tuesday.

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The summit at Al-Yamamah Palace also focused on bilateral subjects covering political, security and commercial fields.

The talks ahead of the UN-sponsored Syria peace dialogue, have added significance in terms of efforts that have been directed to reach a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

“King Salman and Erdogan expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the first Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council meeting,” Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer told Arab News.

Demirer said the two leaders discussed key regional issues like Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iran besides bilateral security cooperation and terrorism.

President Erdogan had separate meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif on Monday.

The Turkish president also held talks with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday in which they shared concerns and interests regarding developments in the region.

Demirer said the two leaders expressed “their desire to move forward” … and discussed security, combating terrorism, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Demirer added that the two leaders exchanged views on the most pressing issues on the regional and international agenda.

“There were no differences in our views,” said the envoy adding that the meeting with the crown prince focused “on combating terrorism and cooperation on security issues.”

He said it was a very successful visit to move forward after the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council meeting. “The summit meeting was in way approval of the results of the joint council meeting by both heads of state,” he noted.

Last week the first meeting of the council, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, took place in Ankara.

Syria was a focus point for the president during his meetings with top Saudi officials. On Monday in Manama, Erdogan called for a “safe zone” in northern Syria. The positions of Saudi Arabia and Turkey are “absolutely identical” on Syria, Al-Jubeir said last week in Ankara, after the joint council meeting.

On the sidelines of the visit, a few ministerial bilateral meetings were held. Al-Jubeir met here Monday night with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, who is traveling with the Turkish president.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and work of the first session of the Saudi-Turkish Coordination. The meeting was attended by Saudi ambassador to Turkey Waleed Al-Khuraiji.

Erdogan wrapped up his two-day visit to the Kingdom on Tuesday evening and left for Qatar. Qatar hosts a Turkish military base.

Representatives of the two countries signed an agreement in the field of housing issues.

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Wednesday, 15 Feb 2017

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News Network
April 26,2020

Abu Dhabi, Apr 26: Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor says he is appalled after the bodies of three Indians flown back to India were returned to Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The three deceased Indian nationals had died of non-coronavirus causes and were flown to Delhi on Thursday but were promptly returned by authorities there.

“We are appalled at what has happened,” Kapoor told Gulf News. “We do not know if the bodies were returned because of coronavirus-related restrictions, but we are obviously not sending the remains of people [who have passed away from COVID-19],” he added.

“[As we understand], it happened because of new protocols at the airport and we are trying to sort it out,” he said.

Sent back a few hours later

“The remains were not offloaded from the plane, and were sent back a few hours later,” Kapoor explained.

The deceased were Kamlesh Bhatt, who passed away on April 17, and Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh who both died on April 13.

According to reports in Indian media, Kamlesh Bhat was 23 years old, and hailed from Tehri Garhwal district. He allegedly died of cardiac arrest. Along with the remains Kumar and Singh, Bhatt’s body was initially repatriated on an Etihad Airways flight, then sent back, even though his relatives had been on their way to collect them.

Kapoor explained the procedure through which remains are normally returned to family members back home, saying that the worker’s employer typically makes arrangements with cargo companies to repatriate bodies on cargo aircraft.

The employer applies for a No Objection Certificate from the Indian Embassy, which is granted once the Embassy ensures that all local formalities have been completed. The cargo company then applies for airport clearance, and the airline obtains approvals from the receiving airport.

“If airport protocols have changed, it means cargo companies have to be more careful about the clearance they’re getting,” Kapoor advised.

Additional costs
The ambassador added there may eventually be additional costs to repatriate the bodies but that it is first necessary to sort out the concerns.

The global coronavirus outbreak has spawned difficulties in repatriating mortal remains as a result of the travel restrictions imposed by countries. Remains of people dying from COVID-19 are not being sent back, but the caution surrounding the handling of bodies often affects the repatriation of those who succumb to other causes.

As Gulf News reported, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan reached out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for intervention in bringing back the bodies of Keralites who have died in the Gulf from non-COVID-19 causes.

“I would like to draw your attention to the grievances received from Non-resident Keralites Associations (NRKs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on the delay caused in bringing home the mortal remains of NRKs who had expired due to reasons other than the COVID-19 infection,” read the letter by the CM.

“It is learnt that a ‘clearance certificate’ from the Indian Embassies is required to process the application of bringing home the mortal remains of the dead. The Embassies are [further] insisting on the production of a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi. To enable to bring back the bodies of the NRIs whose deaths occurred due to reasons other than COVID-19 infection, without necessary procedural hassles, I request your kind intervention,” Vijayan has requested.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Riyadh, Jul 5: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved the extension of the validity of the expired iqama (residency permit) and exit and reentry visas of expatriates who are outside the Kingdom for a period of three months without any fee.

The iqama of expatriates inside the Kingdom as well as the visa of visitors who are in the Kingdom of which the validity expires during the period of suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom will also be extended for a period of three months without any charge.

The validity of final exit visas as well as exit and reentry visas issued for expatriates, who are in the Kingdom, but were not used during the lockdown period will be extended for a period of three months without any fee, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an official source at the Ministry of Interior.

The ministry source said that these measures were taken as part of the continuous efforts made by the government of King Salman to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on individuals as well as on private sector establishments and investors, economic activities in the Kingdom, following the adoption of the preventive measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The beneficiaries of the King’s order include all expatriates who are outside the Kingdom on exit and reentry visas, which expired during the lockdown period and after lifting of the lockdown.

These expatriates are not in a position to return to the Kingdom due to the enforcement of suspension of international flight service and temporary ban on entry and exit from the Kingdom.

The beneficiaries also include those expatriates who are still in the Kingdom after issuance of final exit visas or exit and reentry visas but could not travel because of the suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 25: Dusty weather to persist in the UAE on Monday as well with a chance of rainfall in parts of the country, the national Met department reported.

According to the NCM, the weather today will be fair to partly cloudy, with a chance of some convective clouds formation by afternoon - eastward and northward - extending to some internal areas that may be associated with some rainfall.

The weather will get humid by night and Tuesday morning over some coastal areas.

NCM predicts a wet Eid break.

Sharjah Police issued a weather warning as heavy rain flooded roads in Sharjah's Kalba among other areas.

Moderate to fresh winds will gain strength during the day causing blowing dust and sand.

The sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea.

Earlier on Sunday, a weather alert was issued by authorities as moderate to heavy rain - accompanied with hail - lashed parts of the UAE. A rainbow in Dubai skies cheered up residents, celebrating a unique Eid this year amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic - by mostly staying home.

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