Government says 215 Maltese nationals in Middle East sought assistance from Consular Directorate

A total of 215 Maltese nationals in the Middle East have sought assistance from the Consular Directorate.

In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister said that 169 of them are in the United Arab Emirates, while the rest are in Qatar. 

Since last Saturday, residents in the Middle East have been facing missile strikes and drone attacks as Iran launched retaliatory attacks following Israeli and US strikes on the country.

MaltaToday had reported that 1,619 Maltese and Gozitan nationals are registered across seven Middle Eastern countries.

During a meeting on the latest updates in the Middle East, government said that evacuation plans for Maltese nationals were discussed to prepare for when authorities in the region reopen their airspace.

The meeting also focused on government’s plans to weather the economic impacts of the conflict. According to OPM, the meeting acknowledged that Malta’s energy and fuel portfolios are well-diversified and include hedging agreements that ensure a stable supply.

“The meeting also touched upon the protection of digital infrastructure and monitoring of the supply chain that won’t seem to be impacted because it’s already operating in circumstances where the Strait of Hormuz and Suez Canal are affected.”

According to OPM, the situation is being monitored on an hour-to-hour basis. 

Present at the meeting were ministers, Silvio Schembri, Byron Camilleri, Miriam Dalli, and Clyde Caruana, Principle Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana, Permanent Secretary Christopher Cutajar, and OPM Chief of Staff Mark Mallia.