By Bond Robertson 
The first Norwegian plane carrying Norwegian evacuees took off late Thursday night from Kabul airport in Afghanistan.
– I am glad that our first plane has now departed from Kabul. On board are Norwegian nationals, some family members of locally employed Afghans and some other European nationals, Foreign Minister In Eriksen Soered (H) tells NTB.
The plane is scheduled to land in Tbilisi, Georgia, before arriving in Norway.
We continue our extensive work to evacuate local Afghan staff and their families, as well as Norwegian citizens and people living in Norway. Eriksen Soered says the work is demanding and may take some time.
More and more people are being evacuated
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that many expatriates at the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul have been evacuated to Norway. The same applies to nine personnel from the sanitation of the armed forces.
– I just met them. They are tired, but in good spirits and in good health. They will now have follow-up and rest, Eriksen Sored said.
– They’ve had a long journey and dramatic experiences, she says.
These people were evacuated to their homes by the Danish Armed Forces. The plane, now en route from Kabul, is the first Norwegian to evacuate Norwegians from Afghanistan in the wake of the chaotic situation.
Ask people to sign up
The Norwegian authorities do not have any confirmed figures on the number of Norwegian citizens in Afghanistan.
Therefore, the Secretary of State encourages all Norwegian citizens who are in Afghanistan to register reiseregistrering.no.
– Registration is voluntary, but it is an important tool for us that gives us an overview of the number of Norwegian citizens in Afghanistan, she says.
24 hour help
To further the work with the evacuation, Ambassador Ole Andreas Lindemann was sent to Afghanistan to assist with the work.
The minister also mentioned that the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul cannot provide regular consular assistance as long as it is closed. Inquiries to the Embassy are automatically sent to the State Department’s Operations Center in Oslo, which is now open 24 hours a day and will answer phones and email.
Defense Chief Erik Kristofferson confirmed earlier this week that all Norwegian embassy staff have been evacuated from Kabul.
The United Nations and the Group of Seven call on the Taliban to unleash the people
The leaders of the UN sub-organizations are calling on the Taliban to unleash their employees. The G7 foreign ministers are also demanding free rent for those who want to leave the country.
Humanitarian leaders are also appealing to the Taliban to allow their staff to have safe access to Afghan civilians, and are asking for more money to help millions of people.
The United States says the Taliban are cooperating
The United States says the Taliban appears to be cooperating in the evacuation from Kabul airport.
General Hank Taylor said the evacuation of US citizens and Afghans on US visas has rebounded, despite reports that the Taliban continue to prevent people from reaching the airport.
However, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Taliban are working together to allow Afghans registered as visa applicants to enter the airport gate.
We have indications this morning that this process is working, he said. Nor does the Taliban appear to be obstructing the flights.
The commander-in-chief of the US armed forces on the ground is in regular contact with the Taliban to ensure that US citizens are freely chartered for the airport.
Twelve large C-17 planes have transported 2,000 people from Kabul in the past 24 hours, and the Pentagon says 7,000 people have been evacuated since the Taliban seized Kabul at the weekend. Other countries such as France, Germany, India and Denmark have also evacuated citizens and Afghans.