Osama Al-Nugali, spokesman of the ministry, said this was a small percentage compared to citizens of other countries, which indicated that Saudis were not targeted abroad, and were “the most disciplined in the world” when traveling.

However, he lamented the “extraordinary and difficult” incidents involving some scholarship students abroad, which were “a source of pain and sorrow for everyone.” These were all thoroughly investigated with the authorities in the countries involved, he said.

Al-Nugali said that the government has protected citizens by preventing them from traveling to certain countries where they may be targeted. This happened in the case of Thailand, he said.

The Interior and Education Ministries were also involved in warning citizens about threats through social media, SMSs and e-mails. Travelers are provided with contact details of the embassies in the countries they visit, he said.

There have only been 16 cases involving Saudis abroad since 2009. These include the disappearance of Hamza Sharif, Mohammad Ghannam, and Faris Al-Yami. The most tragic was the stabbing of Nahed Al-Manaa in Britain, which is still under investigation, he said.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Azzam Al-Dakhil and Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah recently signed an agreement to send 1,000 candidates on scholarships abroad under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ ‘Your Job, Your Scholarship’ initiative.

Under the agreement, the Commerce Ministry would employ them on graduation. Al-Dakhil thanked the minister for his positive response to the third phase of the program.

The minister also thanked the agencies participating in the program for guiding students to choose their courses and supervising them during their years abroad.

The program has been set up to ensure that students take courses that would provide them the skills needed by the country’s industries. He praised the role being played by the newly formed Council of Economic and Development Affairs to achieve these goals, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

Al-Rabiah said the foreign scholarship program was the ideal vehicle for ensuring that students are prepared for the Saudi jobs market. “The agreement will focus on providing scholarships in engineering. The ministry is working with several leading national factories to recruit the graduates once they return to the Kingdom,” said Al-Rabiah.