Ethiopia vows to further strengthen strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia targeting at citizens -oriented activities, so noted Embassy of Ethiopia in Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Ahmed said that the embassy’s recent target is citizen -oriented activities due to the fact that lots of Ethiopians have been migrating to Saudi Arabia through legal or illegal ways.
So we have to address such a trend through supporting and helping fellow citizens residing in Saudi Arabia via legalizing them to work as housemaids and engage in other decent menial jobs.
Adding he noted that, the other sphere is economic relationship. The Ethiopia’s business people have been flocking there, great in numbers, for investments purpose such as exporting agriculture products to Saudi Arabia. In this regard, it is the first country to import coffee as well as lot of other products from Ethiopia. In short, we have very strong economic relationship with Saudi Arabia.”
And the Saudis also support developmentprojects of Ethiopia. Recently, they had contributed almost half- billion dollars to National Bank of Ethiopia in a bid to fill the shortage gaps of hard currency. Hopefully, we are expecting more.
Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia are also cooperatively working together in maintaining security, particularly, in the strategic place of Red Sea and throughout Africa. In short, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia have been cooperating in various aspects.
As to the Ambassador, a limited number of educated people and experts are not going to Saudi Arabia, they go to the west. Mostly, those who are going to Saudi Arabia, do not have basic educational background. As a result, these people are forced to engage in taskforce of domestic house works and construction labors. Nevertheless, the embassy has demanded professionals to go there.
They couldstand opportunities of becoming drives, nurses and engineers to help them and help their countries.
The ambassador pointed out that the Ethiopian diaspora in Saudi Arabia has huge in number both legal and illegal which is having permission to live there or could not .These people have been contributing a lot to their country by way of remittance.
An attempt is undertaken to negotiate on the release of prominent individuals, particularly, affluent business person- Sheik Mohammed Ali Alamudin and other adjourned Ethiopian citizens, he noted. Actually, there are individuals who are in jail and house arrest. If someone breached the Saudis’ laws and regulations, the Saudi government does not hesitate to put the offender in jail.
In this regard, there are many individuals who get jailed on the daily basis. In comparison with Ethiopia’s residents residing in Saudi Arabia, those who are in jail not that much great numbers. For instance, in the capital city of Riyadh, about 695 our citizens are put behind bars. This year, the embassy has sent over 1500 citizens back to homeland- Ethiopia, he added.
“By the same token, prominent Sheik Mohammed Ali Alamudin was in jail as he has a Saudi citizenship, however, he is Ethiopian in origin. Actually, he is not now in prison. He is released. Generally speaking, there are many individuals who are set free. They came back to their homeland,” He remarked.
He insisted that the diaspora community should abide by the rule of law of the country of Saudi Arabia. Otherwise, putting in jail will be in the hand and in the duty of the enforcement agent.
The Ethiopian Herald September 15/2019
BY MEHARI BEYENE
