Covid: India ‘hopes’ travel restrictions would be eased soon

Covid: India ‘hopes’ travel restrictions would be eased soon

India on Thursday expressed hope that more countries would take steps to normalise the overseas movement of people from India. "With the improvement in the Covid-19 situation in India, we have been taking up with foreign countries the issue of easing travel restrictions for Indians," Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a media briefing. "We believe that this is an important element towards economic recovery. There have been some positive steps in this direction," Bagchi added. Many countries, including some GCC states, imposed restrictions on the entry of Indians and suspended flights to and from India following a second wave of Coronavirus spread in India few months ago. A fortnight back, India's Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan held a meeting with Indian ambassadors in the Gulf to discuss initiatives to resume passenger flights to India from their countries of accreditation, according to the Spokesperson. Both India's Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar and the Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla have been taking up with foreign governments steps to help Indians who need to travel back to various countries across the world.