Hanoi (VNA) – The majority of the Vietnamese peoplein Ukraine have been safely evacuated from war zones, and authorities willcontinue working to have appropriate plans, according to Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu.

Hieu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee forOverseas Vietnamese Affairs, was among the officials present at Noi Bai InternationalAirport in Hanoi on March 8 noon to welcome 287 Vietnamese people who were evacuatedfrom Ukraine and on board the first repatriation flight in Romania.

Talking to the press at Noi Bai airport, he said since thefighting broke out, one of the top priorities of the Party, State, Government,and Vietnam Fatherland Front is to guarantee the safety of overseas Vietnamesecitizens and businesses.

The Governmentdemanded a special working group be set up to move the citizens out of warzones and assist those who wish to return to the homeland. As the coordinatingbody, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working closely with relevantministries and sectors to order Vietnam’s representative agencies in Ukraineand neighbouring countries like Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, incooperation with Vietnamese associations, to immediately evacuate those in theworst war zones, the official noted.

The firstrepatriation flight was arranged within three days, Hieu said, thankingVietnamese associations in the nearby countries of Ukraine to help successfullyperform this task.

He citedthe representative agencies as reporting that most of the citizens in war zoneshave been safely evacuated. Basing on their aspirations, ministries and sectorswill propose the Government and the working group organise more repatriationflights in the time ahead.

The deputyminister said this time’s citizen protection and evacuation campaign has somespecial features.

Thisis not the first time repatriation flights have been conducted on a large scalesince a similar move was made in the face of the Libya crisis in 2011. However,most of the Vietnamese people in Ukraine have lived in this country for a longtime and had strong links with it. Many of them previously thought that thefight would not be so fierce.

Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies havecontinually issued recommendations and persuaded the expatriates, who oftenmade the evacuation decision at the last minutes.

Relevant agencies have been exerting utmost efforts to liaisewith authorities in Ukraine and Russia to create a safety corridor for thecitizens to move, Hieu noted, adding that only a few people are still inUkraine to watch over their assets, and the agencies are still keeping in touchwith them to give help.

This citizen protection campaign has certain advantages,including the Party, State, and Government leaders’ attention, relevantagencies’ proactiveness, and experience in handling previous crises, but muchstill needs to be done in the coming time, according to the official./.