A senior British government official has praised the work of the UAE in helping to repatriate UK citizens amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Middle East Minister James Cleverly said co-operation between the UK and UAE "is helping us to meet the challenges presented by the coronavirus".
Speaking with Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cleverly thanked the UAE for its support and for keeping the airports open.
The @ForeignOffice remains focused on getting Brits home. I thanked my UAE 🇦🇪 counterpart @AnwarGargash this morning for the Emirates’ support, keeping airports open.
— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) April 16, 2020
🇬🇧 & 🇦🇪 cooperation is helping us meet the challenges presented by #coronavirus.
Hundreds of British citizens travelling in the UAE were able to fly home this month on specially organised flights.
The UK and UAE have also signed an agreement that allows Britons stranded abroad to transit through the Emirates on their way home.
"The generosity of our friends in the region has helped many British citizens to return to their country as we fight together a pandemic," said Sir John Lorimer, senior defence adviser on the Middle East to the UK government.
Patrick Moody, British ambassador to the UAE, said this week that flights were continuing to help UK citizens who wanted to return home.
نيل كرمبتون السفير البريطاني
— وزارة الخارجية 🇸🇦 (@KSAMOFA) April 16, 2020
يتحدث لـ #شاشة_الخارجية pic.twitter.com/8Xt9KbU7pV
Mr Cleverly also spoke to Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al Jubeir, and thanked him for the kingdom's co-operation.
Continued support from @Saudi_Airlines has helped hundreds of Brits get home.
— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) April 16, 2020
I thanked Saudi Minister of State @AdelAljubeir for his help when we spoke earlier today. An excellent example of 🇸🇦 and 🇬🇧 cooperation
