Ambassador Berhanu Tsegaye addressed the issue of migration at the IGAD – Saudi High-Level Discussion, during which a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia delegation led by H.E. Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Kattan, Advisor at the Royal Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, participated.
H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Djibouti, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and Ambassadors from IGAD member states also took part in the High-Level discussion.
Speaking at the meeting, H.E. Ambassador Berhanu Tsegaye, Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, indicated that the IGAD region is currently facing an unprecedented influx of migrants, in addition to drought, humanitarian crises, and terrorism, all of which continue to be significant problems in the region.
The Ambassador underlined the issue of migration along the Ethiopia-Djibouti-Yemen route, which remains a major transit route for outgoing and incoming Ethiopian migrants. While recognizing the coordinated effort by the governments of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to repatriate tens of thousands of Ethiopians to their homeland, he stressed the importance of addressing migration at its source.
Although, the Government of Ethiopia prioritizes efforts to repatriate citizens, it was recommended that efforts be directed and bolstered toward addressing the situation at home, which helps in addressing the problem in a sustainable manner, and urged IGAD and partner states such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take the steps necessary in this regard.
H.E. Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Kattan, for his part, said his government attaches great importance to Africa and asserted Saudi’s commitment to strengthen its cooperation with IGAD member states in order to address migration, terrorism and other regional issues.
Calls were also made to support IGAD member states’ efforts to establish and run cross-border surveillance operation centers to monitor and control the movement of migrants and bring human traffickers to law enforcement bodies.
