The government of Uganda has begun evacuating its nationals from the Islamic Republic of Iran following the escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
On Monday, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Bagiire, confirmed that 43 Ugandan students have been successfully evacuated from Iran to neighboring Turkey.
Bagiire said the decision followed growing insecurity in Iran, which has disrupted normal life and activities, including studies.
“As you know, there is a conflict in the Middle East between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel and the US, and arising from that, there is destruction in many ways, but also it has affected a number of activities in Iran,” Bagiire said.
He explained that most Ugandans in Iran are students who had secured scholarships to study in Tehran.
“As for Uganda, we have primarily students that have been in Tehran studying in Tehran. They accessed some scholarships to go and study in Tehran,” he noted.
Bagiire added that the Ugandan Embassy in Tehran has maintained constant contact with the students to ensure their safety.
“These students, by and large, the Ugandan community that our embassy in Tehran has constantly and consistently been in touch with,” he said.
He revealed that this is not the first evacuation involving the same group of students.
“If you recall, in June again, these very students got stuck and the government of Uganda had to evacuate them. The same thing happened this time.”
According to Bagiire, the embassy swiftly organized transport for the students and moved them by road to the Turkey–Iran border, where they were received by Uganda’s mission in Ankara.
“This time round, we had around 43 students in universities in Tehran, and the embassy quickly organized them and took them by road to the Turkey–Iran border, where they have been received by our mission in Ankara.”
He confirmed that the students are now safe in Turkey and arrangements are underway to bring them back home.
“As we speak right now, they are on Turkish soil, in Turkish territory. We are planning on how to evacuate them and return them home. And we are hoping that before the end of the week, they will have returned.”
The government has assured the public that it continues to monitor the situation closely and remains committed to safeguarding Ugandan nationals abroad.
