ADDIS ABABA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has established a national committee to repatriate hundreds of thousands of nationals currently residing in Saudi Arabia, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.
Dina Mufti, Spokesman, Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a national committee headed by Demeke Mekonen, Ethiopia Deputy Prime Minister and acting Foreign Minister, has been established to repatriate and rehabilitate citizens living in difficult conditions in the middle eastern country, reported state media outlet Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation.
"This committee's main purpose is returning home our people from Saudi Arabia in a short period of time and then resettling them in their respective home areas," Mufti said.
Mufti further said the national committee has various sub-entities in it, tasked with the successful execution of repatriation and resettlement of Ethiopian nationals currently living in Saudi Arabia.
Among the sub-entities in the national committee are the Ethiopia National Disaster Risk Management Commission, the Ethiopia Women and Social Affairs Ministry, the Ethiopia Labor and Skills Ministry and the Ethiopia Ministry of Health.
The Ethiopian government estimates there are currently about 750,000 Ethiopians living in Saudi Arabia of whom 450,000 are suspected to reside in the country without proper legal documents.
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.
