ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government has in recent weeks repatriated 400 nationals from Saudi Arabia, an Ethiopian official said on Friday.
Speaking to Xinhua, Nebiat Getachew, Spokesperson for Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Ethiopia has in recent weeks facilitated the repatriation of 400 nationals who were stranded in Saudi Arabia.
Getachew said the 400 nationals who were living as undocumented migrants in Saudi Arabia were returned home with collaboration from the Saudi Arabia government.
"In addition to returning home stranded Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia is also working to return nationals stranded in other Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Yemen," Getachew told Xinhua.
"Ethiopia has already signed overseas employment agreements with the governments of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Jordan, while it's near to completing similar kind of agreement with the Lebanese government," he further said.
Ethiopia hopes agreements it signs with Middle Eastern countries will help legalize the status of Ethiopian migrants and help protect Ethiopian nationals from abuse.
Despite a growing economy and public awareness campaigns on the dangers of human trafficking by the Ethiopian government, it is estimated that thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked to Saudi Arabia as well as various other countries annually, where they are mainly engaged in the informal economy.
In addition to imprisonment and various other hurdles, desperate Ethiopian migrants also often encounter many deadly calamities as they attempt to cross the dangerous Red Sea route hoping to reach the Middle East via war-torn Yemen before they reach their targeted destination -- Saudi Arabia.
