Migration State Secretary Anders Hall visits Ethiopia
Published
Migration State Secretary Anders Hall visited Ethiopia on 3–6 March to discuss issues related to return and migration. During his trip, Mr Hall met various government and agency representatives, including State Minister of Foreign Affairs Mesganu Arga and General Director, Immigration and Citizenship Services (ICS) Selamawit Dawit.
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During his trip to Ethiopia, Mr Hall met Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Mesganu Arga at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sweden’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Hans Lundqvist also took part in the meeting.
Photo: Government Offices of Sweden
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Migration State Secretary Anders Hall with General-Director, Immigration and Citizenship Services (ICS) Selamawit Dawit. ICS deals with matters relating to migration and citizenship.
Photo: Government Offices of Sweden
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Mr Hall also met Ethiopia’s Minister of Labour and Skills Muferihat Kamil Ahmed to discuss attracting talent in Ethiopia and the region.
Photo: Government Offices of Sweden
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Anders Hall with Director-General of the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) Teyiba Hassan and Swedish Ambassador Hans Lundquist. RRS works to protect, support and integrate refugees and returnees by offering safety, health care, education and employment opportunities.
Photo: Government Offices of Sweden
Over the past few years, the Government has been intensifying its efforts around return of individuals who don’t have the legal right to stay in Sweden. Ethiopia is one of the countries Sweden prioritises in its return work and the purpose of Mr Hall’s trip was to establish an efficient cooperation on return and migration between the two countries.
“It’s crucial for Sweden to devise a well-functioning return system. For me, the trip to Ethiopia was important to emphasise the good cooperation we already have in place and further develop what we need to do, but also to discuss a broader cooperation with Ethiopia. I felt that the Ethiopians understood our specific requests on return, which I appreciate,” says Mr Hall.
Sweden accounts for some 20 per cent of EU return caseload to Ethiopia and there is a regular influx of asylum seekers from Ethiopia to Sweden. Discussions were held during the meetings on concrete ways in which the return system can be improved.
