Blanar: Slovak Diplomacy Secured Arrival of Five Palestinian Students from Gaza

Bratislava, 18 December (TASR) - Five Palestinian scholarship students from the Gaza Strip have arrived in Slovakia under an assisted entry programme, where they will study mainly medical disciplines thanks to scholarships awarded by the Slovak government, TASR learnt from the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's press department on Thursday. "Due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, students who were awarded Slovak government scholarships for the 2025/2026 academic year were unable to travel to Slovakia. Therefore, through our crisis management department, the Slovak Embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as the Slovak Liaison Office in Ramallah, we launched an operation and the demanding planning of the entire logistics of relocating the students. We established cooperation with several partners operating in the Middle East and also with the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Bratislava," said Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). According to him, the safe arrival of the students is the result of successful cooperation and the extensive network of contacts of Slovak diplomacy with foreign partners. The transport of the five scholarship holders from the Gaza Strip was ensured by the ministry in close cooperation with several actors. A selected international organisation participated in the operation, providing transport by an organised humanitarian convoy within the Gaza Strip on Monday (15 December). Further assistance was provided by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, as well as by Serbia and Jordan. mf