(Xinhua) — Ethiopia has repatriated more than 7,000 nationals from Saudi Arabia in recent days, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday.
Speaking to journalists, Dina Mufti, Spokesman, Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said the Ethiopian government is conducting thrice weekly flights to repatriate nationals from the middle eastern country.
Mufti further said the process to repatriate Ethiopian nationals will be further stepped up in the coming days.
The MoFA Spokesperson also said there are an estimated 750,000 Ethiopians living in Saudi Arabia currently, out of which 450,000 have reportedly entered the middle eastern country illegally.
In March, Ethiopia established a national committee to repatriate hundreds of thousands of nationals currently residing in Saudi Arabia.
In recent months, the East African country has stepped up efforts to return home its citizens stranded in various foreign countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, as part of the government’s newly unveiled “citizen-centered diplomacy.”
It is estimated that tens of thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked to Saudi Arabia as well as various other countries annually, where they are mainly engaged in the informal economy.Enditem
