Ethiopia repatriates 35,000 nationals from Saudi Arabia

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has repatriated around 35,000 nationals from Saudi Arabia in the past two months, an official said here.
Speaking to local media, State Minister of Government Communications Service Selamawit Kassa said the government has been able to repatriate tens of thousands of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia in a series of airlift operations between March 30 and the end of May, reports Xinhua news agency.
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“However, the repatriation figures for our citizens over the last two months have only met 35 percent of our original repatriation target numbers.” The Minister also disclosed the Ethiopian government plans to scale up diplomatic efforts to return home the remaining nationals living in difficult conditions in the Middle Eastern country in the coming months.
He called on the Ethiopian public to help in the government’s efforts to crack down on human trafficking networks, while urging parents to teach their kids about the danger of illegal migration, encourage them to make use of domestic economic opportunities, as well as make sure their kids use legal routes for migration.