The reception of Chinese citizens evacuated from Libya and their subsequent repatriation dominated in a meeting of local authorities held on Friday in the port city of Irakleio on the southern Aegean island of Crete.
Greece has agreed to offer hospitality to Chinese evacuees arriving from Libya, who will stay on Crete until arrangements are made for their return to China.
The meeting focused on the reception procedure implemented considering that the ferryboat "Eleftherios Venizelos" provided by "ANEK Lines" will arrive from Benghazi on Saturday carrying thousands of evacuees followed by other two ferryboats expected to arrive soon.
Another issue that dominated in the meeting was the coordination of an airlift operation to be launched in the next two days in consultation with police, airport authorities and the Chinese embassy. Roughly 4-6 flights will take off from the island on a daily basis for a period of 10-15 days until all Chinese evacuees are back to their country.
Hospitality issues for roughly 4,500 people from the Philippines to be evacuated from Libya shortly were also discussed.
source: ANA
