MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
Mammootty has undertaken this mission in his capacity as chairman of Kairali TV, a south Indian channel.
John Brittas, managing director of the popular Malayalam channel, said 1,000 air tickets would be given away free of cost to the most deprived and stranded expatriates from Kerala in the first phase of the mission.
"We are exploring the possibility of launching chartered flights to evacuate hundreds of such expatriates in distress to Kerala from the GCC countries. For this operation, special permissions have to be obtained from government authorities in India and their counterparts in the GCC states," said Brittas.
In the second phase of the mission, titled "Kairali joining hands for expats", hundreds more eligible expatriates will be provided with flight tickets. "The mission is drawing enthusiastic support from several quarters. Already several businessmen and firms in the GCC and India have come forward, pledging their support by paying for the tickets," said Brittas.
"A screening panel, comprising prominent non-resident patrons, has been constituted under megastar Mammootty, who is the chief patron of this mission, to ensure that only those who are in dire straits would be provided with this one-way ticket costing around Rs15,000." The panel includes OV Mustafa, a director of Norka Roots, a government welfare body for non-resident Keralites, and VK Ashraf, an industrialist based in the UAE. EM Ashraf, Kairali TV's Middle East head, will be coordinating the relief mission along with S. Ramesh and Mohammed Faiz, both joint convenors.
Air India Express has so far flown eight repatriation flights to Kerala from the Gulf in the first leg the 64-flight global evacuation drive called 'Vande Bharat Mission.'
issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
His visit to Cairo aimed to salvage stalled negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the conflict
The group accused Israel, which has so far refused to comment, as US denies involvement
Hundreds of pagers belonging to the armed group exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others
They view it as a pivotal move toward fostering inclusivity and diversity in corporate structures
Israel has not yet commented on the explosions
The meeting saw engaging discussions on Sinomach’s strategic initiatives and ongoing projects in the region