Over 27,000 Saudi Arabian nationals without documentation are repatriated by Ethiopia

approximately the past three weeks, approximately 27,000 undocumented Ethiopian nationals have been returned home from Saudi Arabia, an Ethiopian government official said on Thursday.

According to Nebiyu Tedla, a spokesman for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government of Ethiopia is committed to repatriating its compatriots who are stuck in challenging circumstances overseas, which includes the current large-scale operation to return illegal nationals home.

He said that in order to assist the return of more than 70,000 undocumented Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia, the nation has formed a national committee made up of representatives from several government departments.

According to Tedla, as part of the repatriation effort, the Ethiopian government is now operating three planes per day, four days per week. In order to assist with the repatriation process and the provision of housing upon their arrival in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the national committee is collaborating with relevant parties.

Ethiopia has increased its efforts in the past few years to repatriate its nationals who are stuck abroad, primarily in Saudi Arabia, as part of a “citizen-centered” diplomatic push.

The Ethiopian government is also attempting to break up networks of human trafficking and provide low-income citizens with employment possibilities.

It is thought that thousands of Ethiopians, desiring better economic possibilities overseas, are trafficked annually via neighboring countries by human smugglers before making the perilous journey across the Red Sea.

Their major objective is to go through war-torn Yemen to the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being their main destination.