APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia has commenced repatriation of its nationals from Saudi Arabia with 842 of them returned home on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia has said.
“The official process of repatriating undocumented Ethiopian nationals who were held in prison and detention centers in Saudi Arabia commenced today,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The returnees had received a warm welcome at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and they were escorted to their accommodation centers where they underwent medical examinations and provided with food and other supplies,” the statement said.
According to the statement, a national committee of 16 high-level government officials is deployed in Saudi Arabia to facilitate the repatriation process.
“The government’s initiative to repatriate over 70,000 detained Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia within the next four months aligns with the government’s citizen-centered diplomacy” the ministry quoted Nebiyu Tedla, spokesperson of the ministry, as saying.
Pursuant with the government’s plans, 12 weekly flights are scheduled to repatriate the undocumented Ethiopian nationals from Saudi Arabia over the next four months, the ministry added.
In 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that approximately 750,000 Ethiopians live in Saudi Arabia and 450,000 of them entered the country unlawfully.
MG/as/APA