News in Brief
The United Nations General Assembly opens…
…and the Climate Action Summit promises concrete action…
…as does the Ethiopia/Denmark chaired Energy Action Forum …
…and the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage
President Sahle-Work and Foreign Minister Gedu hold bilateral meetings in New York
Foreign Minister Gedu addresses the LLDC ministerial meeting in New York
Egypt and Qatar call for the US to remove the Sudan from its terror list
Moody’s affirms Ethiopia’s B1 rating
IGAD training for human rights’ experts and officials
Africa and the African Union
The General Assembly of the United Nations opened this week in New York for its annual deliberations on issues of global concern. Ninety-one heads of state and 45 heads of government are among the delegations convening on New York. Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Work Zewde is leading a delegation that includes Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew and other senior officials. This week there has been a series of summits and high-level meetings including: The Energy Action Forum and the Climate Action Summit, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, a High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and ministerial meetings of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). (See articles)
IGAD Foreign Ministers held a meeting in New York on the side-lines of the General Assembly this week. The meeting extended its welcome to the newly appointed Foreign Minister of South Sudan and of Sudan. South Sudanese Foreign Minister Awut Deng Achuil briefed the meeting on the details of the peace process in South Sudan and called on the Member States to support its implementation. Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ms. Asma Abdalla, called on neighboring countries and IGAD member states to provide support for the transitional government in Sudan. The Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and the State Ministers of Kenya and Uganda attended.
IGAD started a three-day training course for national experts and officials from Human Rights Institutions within Member States on Tuesday this week (September 24). The training aimed to build capacity on African Human Rights systems and explore ways to provide collaboration and effective cooperation. (See article)
Maritime officials from Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, met in Uganda this week to share experiences on how best to intervene in regional threats of a maritime nature. The two-week training course is being held under the auspices of the Eastern African Standby Force and aims to enhance competence in search and rescue operations, and the Standby Force’s capacity and readiness to intervene in maritime regional threats. Uganda is the host of the EASF’s maritime component and it has
deployed a maritime component in Somalia.
The 2019 Concordia Annual Leadership Award in New York on Tuesday (September 24) at the Concordia Annual Summit was given to Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi for his effort to ensure hope and peace in the region with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki were named as co-recipients. President Abdullahi, who thanked Concordia for acknowledging the three leaders for “their tireless endeavor in realizing peace in the region,” referred to the trilateral agreement between the three countries founded on economic integration. Concordia is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization which holds an Annual Summit alongside the UN General Assembly in New York City to promote partnering between governments and businesses to address the world’s most pressing needs.
The Council of the EU has announced that as of 1 October, Major General Antonio Planells Palau is appointed Operation Commander of EU Naval Force Operation Atlanta, the EU’s counter-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean. The EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy towards Somalia also includes EUCAP Somalia, enhancing Somalia’s maritime civilian law enforcement capacity and EUTM Somalia, providing political and strategic level military advice to the Somali authorities and contributing to the development of the Somali National Army’s training capacity.
Ethiopia
President Sahle-Work Zewde headed Ethiopia’s delegation to the UN General Assembly this week. The delegation included Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew and other senior officials. The President, who addressed the Assembly on Thursday, held a number of bilateral meetings during the week. (See articles)
In her speech to the Assembly, President Sahle-Work said cooperation in the Nile basin was not an option but a necessity. Ethiopia was building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile mainly to generate hydroelectric power; nearly 65 million Ethiopians did not have access to electricity. She said: “The utilization of the Nile waters offers a unique opportunity for our trans-boundary cooperation between the sisterly countries of the region. It should never be an object of competition and mistrust.” Ethiopia strongly believes that the utilization of the Nile River should be based on the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization of natural resources causing no significant harm. The President noted the reforms introduced in Ethiopia since April 2018. She said: “We have widened the political space, releasing jailed political prisoners and journalists, inviting exiled political parties to return home and pursue peaceful struggle.” Electoral, anti-terrorism and Civil Society Organization laws have been revised and Ethiopia has ended the 20-year conflict with Eritrea. The government has initiated liberalization of the economy and launched a homegrown economic reform agenda to address macroeconomic imbalances and resolve structural bottlenecks. President Sahle-Work concluded by underlining Ethiopia’s full commitment to implementation of the Sustainable Development Agendas and the Paris Agreement.
Foreign Minister Gedu addressed the annual Ministerial meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in New York and participated in an IGAD Foreign Ministers meeting of IGAD. He opened the Energy Action Forum of the Energy Transition track for the Climate Action Summit as well as holding a number of bilateral meetings. (See articles)
Minister of Peace, Mrs. Muferiat Kamil, representing Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, received the Hessian Peace Prize 2019 at the Hessen Parliament, in Weisbaden, Germany on Monday (September 23), and underlined the Prime Minister’s sincere gratitude and appreciation for the honor conferred by the Hessen Parliament and Board of Trustees of the Albert Osswald-Foundation. Mr. Bouffie, Prime Minister of Hessen and Mr. Rhine, President of the Hesse Parliament, reiterated Ethiopia’s key role in stabilizing the region and the outstanding achievement of Dr. Abiy Ahmed in reaching a historic peace agreement with Eritrea, lifting the state of emergency, releasing prisoners, r signing peace and reconciliation with opposition groups and other reforms. Dr. Abiy has already announced he would donate the €25,000 award for the construction of a “Good Youth Center”.
State Minister of Peace, Ms. Almaz Mekonnen, met a delegation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday (September 25). She briefed the delegation led by the Chairman of NATO Parliamentary Assembly sub-committee, Miro Kovac, on the initiatives to maintain peace in the country and strengthen Ethiopia’s peaceful relationship with other countries in the region. Mr. Kovac, who commended the Ministry’s peace initiatives, said NATO would like work with the Ministry and other stakeholders to bring peace and stability in the region. The two sides exchanged views on further cooperation to sustain peace in the region.
The annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) was held this week in Addis Ababa. It was hosted by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the Collaboration on Internet Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), a partnership that is part of the
Ministry’s digital transformation efforts. This aims to engage stakeholders on strategies for harnessing the benefits of new technologies. The Ministry is working towards building a digital economy and a society grounded on knowledge and technology, to provide greater awareness in Ethiopia and the region of Ethiopia’s wide-ranging political and economic reforms, and what these mean for the potential of ICT as an enabler of democratic governance and sustainable development.
Minister of Culture, Dr. Hirut Kassaw, speaking at the 2019 edition of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum on Tuesday (September 24) said Ethiopia was not benefiting enough from its potential tourism resources. She said neither Ethiopia, nor Africa, were taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the tourism industry. However, she added, the Government of Ethiopia was now taking various initiatives to increase tourism. The Forum attracted participants from more than 52 countries including prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers.
Moody’s Investors Service, in a statement on Friday last week reaffirmed Ethiopia’s B1 recognizing a combination of credit strengths, though it also changed its view of the outlook from stable to negative on the basis that there were still implementation risks for the current reforms and risks to Ethiopia’s fiscal and external positions had increased. (See article)
Addis Ababa University (AAU) has been ranked 13th in Africa and 729th globally in the fifth annual U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings. The rankings provide specific measurements of a university’s reputation as a whole. The AAU was established in 1950 as the University College of Addis Ababa (UCAA) with an enrolment of 33 students, now has 48,673 students and 6043 staff. In its 14 campuses, the University runs 70 undergraduate and 293 graduate programs, 72 for PhDs and 221 Masters as well as various specializations in health sciences. Over 222,000 students have graduated from AAU since its establishment.
Eritrea
Eritrea which recently became the 20th member of the Elephants Protection Initiative of Africa, announced at the end of last week that its elephant population, numbering 15 in 1996 has now reached 250. 44 thousand hectares of land has been reserved for the elephants in the Laelai Gash sub-zone. The Elephant Protection Initiative of Africa was established in 2014 by Ethiopia, Botswana, Chad and Gabon.
Kenya
President Kenyatta of Kenya and President Abdullahi of Somalia met in New York on Tuesday (September 24). The Somali Presidency said, “Somalia and Kenya have agreed to work towards normalizing relations without any implications for the maritime case at the International Court of Justice.” The ICJ is due to resume hearings on their maritime boundary dispute over a 38,600-square mile triangle of sea on November 4. The meeting was convened by Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the current chair of the African Union.
Somalia
President Mohamed Abdullahi told the UN Assembly on Thursday (September 26) that Somalia was making tangible progress. The president was leading a delegation to New York which included Foreign Affairs Minister, Ahmed Awad, Finance Minister, Abdirahman Beileh and other senior officials.
President Mohamed Abdullahi met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (September 24) to discuss strengthening bilateral ties. President Abdullahi said Somalia remained committed to strengthening the Somali-Turkish bond of brotherhood, which had stood the test of time. A statement from the presidency said the talks were aimed at enhancing Somali-Turkish relations.
President Mohamed Abdullahi met the president of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina in New York on Monday (September 23), discussing debt relief and Somalia’s economic reforms. President Abdullahi briefed Mr. Adesina on his government’s efforts to improve the economy and on development projects. He underlined the commitment to achieving debt cancellation through economic reforms. In July, the ADB signed two grants for $28.8 million for road and water supply projects to improve livelihoods in Somalia and boost resilience.
President Mohamed Abdullahi held separate bilateral meetings with President Kersti Kaljulaid of Estonia and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly. He briefed them on the progress made by Somalia on economic development and institutional reforms in the past two years.
President Abdullahi met with the President of the World Bank, David Malpass in New York on Thursday (September 26). They discussed financial reforms and Somalia’s economic recovery. Mr. Malpass said it was encouraging to see Somalia focused on growth and entrepreneurship and he looked forward to furthering “progress on telecom reform, financial technology plus mobile banking projects, and anti-corruption efforts.”
President Abdullahi held talks with the Acting Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, David Lipton, on Somalia’s economic reforms and later tweeted: “We are making clear progress in reforming our economic and fiscal fundamentals and instilling good governance. We are committed to achieving debt relief.”
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has made an additional contribution of EUR 8.1 million ($8.9 million) to the Somalia Multi-Partner Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. The aim of the Fund is to strengthen the capacity of the state to build systems and institutions that deliver services. The Ministry said it was pleased with the progress made in developing Somalia’s institutions and delivering on reforms, though many challenges remained. The Fund, activated in 2014, was established under the Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility. It pools funds from international donors and provides grants directly to government with close monitoring of fiduciary, social and environmental safeguards. It has received contributions of over $447 million from eleven donors
The Netherlands signed a funding agreement on Monday (September 23) in New York for US$28 million to support FAO’s work to boost the resilience of food systems in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. The agreement was part of a new initiative to scale-up resilience-based development work in countries affected by protracted crises. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said the project, building on a Security Council resolution last year on conflict and food security, recognized that sustained rural development initiatives had a key role to play in preventing and mitigating food crises even in situations of protracted instability. It provided for rural communities’ access to and management of natural resources; generated livelihood opportunities along agricultural value chains; and enhanced people’s capacity to take advantage of new opportunities.
AMISOM Force Commander Lieutenant General Tigabu Yilma commended Burundi troops in Jowhar on Monday (September 23) for their hard work in clearing main supply routes, training and mentoring Somali Security Forces and cooperating with members of the community in civil-military activities. He said the success in operations was due to coordination between AMISOM, Somali Security Forces and the local people. The Burundi troops are now in the process of handing over Forward Operating Bases to Somali Security Forces as per UN security resolution 2472 which requires AMISOM hands over security to the Somali Security Forces by December 2021.
AMISOM held a medal parade on Tuesday (September 24) in Baidoa for outgoing Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) troops who had completed their tour of duty. South West State President, Abdiasis Mohammed Laftagareen, said AMISOM forces in Baidoa had done a commendable job, especially in peace-building, humanitarian assistance and community integration. The Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson for Somalia, Ambassador Madeira said by sending troops to serve under AMISOM, the Ethiopian government had shown its commitment to peace and stability in the region.
The UAE has agreed to expand Bossaso International Airport in Puntland regional state. This followed the visit of a UAE delegation. Puntland officials said this would ease transport and boost the economy by creating new efficient business opportunities.
Sudan
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar speaking at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday this week (September 24) called on the Trump administration to remove Sudan from US State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Former US President Jimmy Carter also issued a strongly worded appeal for Sudan to be de-listed. (See article)
Prime Minister Hamdok, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York this week, met with David Hale, Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the US State Department, and with Mark Green, Administrator of USAID, to discuss the State Sponsors of terrorism list. Mr. Hale told officials in Khartoum last month that to get off the list, Sudan needed to make headway on various issues including human rights, religious freedom and counter-terrorism efforts, as well as promote internal peace, political stability and economic recovery.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the Sudan, Ambassador Shiferaw Jarso, paid a courtesy visit to Omar Manis, Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the Transitional Government of the Sudan on Monday (September 23). They agreed the relationship between the two countries was strategic and this should be reflected in their domestic plans and programs. They underlined the need to give emphasis towards strengthening economic integration. Ambassador
Shiferaw reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to support the Transitional Government in its efforts to tackle the current challenges and lay a strong foundation for democracy and prosperity. Minister Manis, who appreciated the mediation efforts of Ethiopia, said there was strong political will to harness the cultural affinities and the diverse economic resources in the two countries to bring about economic integration.
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The United Nations General Assembly opens…
The General Assembly of the United Nations opened this week in New York for its annual deliberations on issues of global concern. This year, in addition to the general debate, world leaders are participating in a series of summits and high-level meetings to boost action on climate change and accelerate progress on sustainable development. Next year, the UN will be 75, and this year’s General Assembly will also provide a build-up to renewed focus on multilateralism, to multilateral governance and cooperation. On Thursday this week (September 26), there was the opportunity to join an Alliance for Multilateralism, an informal coalition to respond to “the crisis of multilateralism which is also a crisis of democracy. A partnership led France and Germany, the Alliance aims to foster a shared respect of international humanitarian law and principles of humanitarian action, and a new commitment to managing climate risks.
Ninety-one heads of state and 45 heads of government are among the delegations convening on New York, though there are some notable absences including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Work Zewde is leading a delegation that includes Foreign Minister, Gedu Andargachew, and other senior officials. They have been participating this week in a series of summits and high-level meetings including: The Energy Action Forum and the Climate Action Summit, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, a High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and ministerial meetings of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs, and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
At the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that the focus of every event this week was the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He said the 2030 Agenda was coming to life, that governments had begun to integrate the Goals into national plans and strategies; the private sector was beginning to understand that green business was good business; cities, businesses, the international financial sector, civil society and young people were taking action. There was progress: extreme poverty and child mortality rates were falling; access to energy and to decent work was rising. But, conflicts, the climate crisis, gender-based violence, and persistent inequalities were undermining efforts to achieve the Goals. Uneven growth, debt levels, global trade tensions, youth unemployment, rising global hunger were on the rise. The Secretary-General stressed: “We must step up our efforts. And we must do it now.” Action must be taken at global level, with bold leadership, both individual and collective; at local level with domestic responses to make a difference in people’s lives; and by people though civil society, grass‑roots organizations, media, private sector, unions, academia and others, mobilizing partnerships. The Secretary-General said he would convene an annual platform for driving the Decade of Action, starting in September 2020 in the context of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was unanimously adopted in 2015. This week’s Summit offered leaders the opportunity to demonstrate how they are working to accelerate action to transform societies and economies with a decade left to the target date of 2030. And a central challenge for the 2030 Agenda remains mobilization of sufficient finance. Necessary investments are underfunded; trade-restrictive measures have accelerated; debt risks are rising. Many countries are unable to find the finance to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals. The High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development brought together leaders from Government, business and the financial sector to unlock resources and create the partnerships needed to accelerate progress. Financing is available for sustainable development, with global financial assets estimated at over $200trillion. But overwhelmingly, these resources are not being channelled towards sustainable development at the scale and speed necessary to achieve the SDGs and objectives of the Paris Agreement. Current investment levels are far from the scale needed. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, annual investment requirements across all sectors have been estimated at around $5-7 trillion. Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde told the Forum that Africans should commit themselves to step up their efforts to align and integrate the delivery of the sustainable Development Goals, and she urged the continent’s leaders to take the driver’s seat in implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The General Assembly was preceded by millions of youth demonstration across the world at the end of last week to demand urgent action on climate change, and the Youth Climate Summit on Saturday (September 21) for young leaders who are driving climate action, including 16-year old Greta Thunberg from Sweden, and emphasized their determination to hold leaders to account and warned “we will be watching.”
Global emissions are reaching record levels and show no sign of peaking. The last four years were the four hottest on record, and winter temperatures in the Arctic have risen by 3°C since 1990. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying, and the impact of climate change on health, through air pollution, heat waves and risks to food security are becoming visible, A new UN summary report, “United in Science”, says nothing less than “deep de-carbonization” will lead to meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement; the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates that that about 50 million more people will need humanitarian assistance every year by 2030 if the world does nothing to mitigate climate change.
…and the Climate Action Summit promises concrete action…
Announcements by Government and private sector leaders at the Climate Action Summit demonstrated that they realized the pace of climate action must accelerate rapidly. Seventy-seven countries committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and 70 countries said they would boost national action plans by 2020 or have started to do so. Over 100 business leaders offered concrete action to align with the Paris Agreement on climate change targets and speed up the transition to green economies. Many smaller countries, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, were among those who made the biggest pledges, despite the fact that they have contributed the least to the problem. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, in closing the Summit, said: “You have delivered a boost in momentum, cooperation and ambition. But we have a long way to go. We need more concrete plans, more ambition from more countries and more businesses. We need all financial institutions, public and private, to choose, once and for all, the green economy.”
France announced that it would not enter into any trade agreement with countries that have policies that counter the Paris Agreement. Germany committed to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Many countries announced new contributions to the Green Climate Fund, the official mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation to climate change. This is in addition to recent announcements from Norway, Germany, France and the United Kingdom who have recently doubled their present contributions. The United Kingdom announced it was doubling its overall international climate finance to £11.6 billion for 2020 to 2025. India pledged to increase renewable energy capacity; China said it would cut emissions by over 12 billion tons annually and would pursue a path of high quality growth and low carbon development. The European Union announced at least 25 per cent of the next European Union budget will be devoted to climate related activities. The Russian Federation announced that it would ratify the Paris Agreement, bringing the total number of countries to 187. Pakistan said it would plant more than 10 billion trees over the next five years. Among the African pledges was President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo who said it would ensure that 63% of the country, the world’s second-largest rainforest, would remain under forest cover. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration would diversify its energy sources and mobilize the youth towards planting 25 million trees. He also noted plans to extend the Great Green Wall initiative to develop a shelter-belt across 11 states of the Nigerian federation. President Geingob of Namibia promised $5m for research on ocean protection.
Eighty-seven major companies with a combined market capitalization of over $2.3 trillion pledged to reduce emissions and align their businesses to a 1.5°C future. One hundred and thirty banks, a third of the global banking sector, signed up to align their businesses with the Paris Agreement goals. The Heads of State from Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia were among those that announced that they would work to phase out coal. The Climate Investment Platform, seeking to directly mobilize $1 trillion in clean energy investment by 2025 in 20 least developed countries in its first year, was officially set up.
Summit initiatives were designed to be scaled up to deliver impact at the global scale needed, and to ensure the actions undertaken would be fair for all, supporting jobs and clear air for better health, and protecting the most vulnerable, as well as offering new initiatives on adaptation, agriculture and early warning systems that will protect 500 million additional people against the impacts of climate change. The Secretary‑General urged Governments, businesses and people everywhere to join the initiatives announced at the Summit and promised to “keep pushing” for greater ambition and action.
…as does the Ethiopia/Denmark chaired Energy Action Forum …
In advance of the Climate Action Summit, the Secretary-General divided the work leading up to the summit into nine different tracks, focusing on specific areas where action was needed to achieve the Paris Agreement. These were: the Mitigation Strategy track (Japan and Chile); the Social and Political Drivers track (Peru and Spain); Youth and Mobilization track(Marshall Islands and Ireland); Energy Transition (Denmark and Ethiopia); Resilience and Adaptation (Egypt and the United Kingdom); Nature-based Solutions track (China and New Zealand); Infrastructure, Cities and Local Government(Turkey and Kenya); Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing (France, Jamaica and Qatar); and Industry (India and Sweden.)
The Energy Action Forum, co-led by Denmark, Ethiopia and Sustainable Energy for All in collaboration with the UN Climate Action Summit Team, brought together the stakeholders of the Climate Action Summit’s Energy Transition. Other members included Palau, Italy, Indonesia, Colombia, Morocco, the International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, and the World Bank. Energy transition is one of the most important and difficult challenges to overcome and needs extensive collective action. 200 key stakeholders participated in the Forum aiming to push the agenda forward; expand and accelerate the most ambitious initiatives; and announce new transformational projects and commitments to support and accelerate the global energy transition.
Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew, opening the Forum, noted the coalition members had identified key action areas to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels towards clean and efficient energy solutions. He stressed the paths to this energy transitions were well documented, and that renewable energy technologies were developing fast with attendant and dramatic costs reductions. The Minister emphasized that Ethiopia’s National Determined Contribution was based on its Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy which aimed to make Ethiopia a middle-income country by 2025 based largely on renewable power. The industrial parks now being developed and emerging businesses were being fueled by low-carbon sources. Ethiopia, as a Regional Power Hub, would also be supplying reliable power to neighboring countries and beyond. Ethiopia, taking advantage of the competitive prices for renewables such as hydro, wind and solar, had also launched a National Electrification Program aiming to bring light to all Ethiopians by 2025. The current access level is 44%.
The Minister noted that over two billion people had gained energy access worldwide but here were still an estimated 840 million without, predominantly living in the 47 Least-Developing Countries, the poorest and most vulnerable segment of the international community. Many countries had embarked on ambitious efforts to provide these with power, but major challenges remained, not least finance. To achieve universal access in Ethiopia by 2025 through least-cost solutions would cost around US6 billion – one billion dollars a year. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that to extend this to all Least Developed Countries would need to US$ 12 to 40 billion each year to meet the 2030 SDG7-goal of universal access to electricity. This requires substantial concessional financing from development partners and grants to complement government mobilization of funds. Currently, the Minister added, only US$3 billion a year of total Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to the energy sector. In addition, only a small number of Green Climate Fund financed projects are located in the LDCs. He underlined the necessity for the Climate Summit to bring forward concrete and timely action proposals for energy transition.
The Minister took the opportunity to announce the “Coalition on Sustainable Energy for All” initiative that Ethiopia has developed in cooperation with Morocco, SEforALL, IRENA and others. This, he said, was a valuable example of the strong momentum of the Energy Transition track. He also welcomed the “Climate Investment Platform” initiative which would allow stronger focus on access to energy in the poorest and most vulnerable countries.
President Sahle-Work, making the closing remarks at the Forum also emphasized the critical role of climate funding to transform national markets and accelerate investment for an effective energy transition. She said: “The need is very clear. Equally stark is the need for funding. I must re-emphasize the importance, the critical importance of funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation. To reach the 840 million people in need, leaving no one behind requires very considerable and sustainable commitment from all sources.”
…and the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage
The first-ever High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage launched new efforts to provide access for all to affordable, inclusive and resilient health systems. The meeting aimed to galvanize global commitments to ensure health for all, and it underlined the close links between health care and climate action and that health is a human right and a precondition of sustainable development. Health was not just an outcome of development; it’s a prerequisite. Africa has the world’s youngest population and it was also home to four of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies and becoming a hub for innovation, research and development. In February, leaders at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa undertook to mobilize domestic resources to invest in primary healthcare and universal coverage. Kenya has embarked on an ambitious universal health coverage scheme, while South Africa passed a new National Health Insurance bill last year designed to reduce the searing inequalities in that country.
President Sahle-Work shared Ethiopia’s commitment to the right of all people to access quality health care regardless of ability to pay or their economic circumstances. She emphasized that Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, had invested a significant amount in the health sector through engaging relevant sectors in an integrated way. She stressed that strong political commitment was important for the expansion of health service coverage. Ethiopia, she pointed out, had shown that making a big effort could lead to success. It had undertaken reforms to upgrade health systems and develop sustainable financing towards Universal Health Coverage. It had invested heavily in building primary healthcare and training thousands of workers, mainly women, to deliver basic health services at the village level. It increased the annual enrolment of doctors tenfold and overhauled the pharmaceutical supply system. The reforms were delivering results.
The theme of the meeting was ‘Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World’ and it was the last chance before 2023, the mid-point of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to mobilize the necessary political support to package the entire health agenda under the umbrella of Universal Health Coverage and sustain health investments. Countries must increase spending on primary healthcare by at least 1% of their GDP if the world is to meet the health targets agreed in 2015. It needs to double health coverage between now and 2030, according to the Universal Health Coverage Monitoring Report. If current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will still be unable to access health care in 2030.
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President Sahle-Work and Foreign Minister Gedu hold bilateral meetings in New York
President Sahle-Work Zewde met with the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (September 24). President Sahle-Work underlined the success of political, legal and economic reforms over the last year and a half and reiterated Ethiopia’s commitment to the peace process in South Sudan and the peaceful settlement of the situation between Eritrea and Djibouti. The Secretary General reaffirmed his appreciation of the reforms in Ethiopia and of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s mediation in the Sudan.
President Sahle-Work held talks with President Alexander Van de Bellen of Austria and with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. She noted the long and historic relationship between Ethiopia and Austria and expressed Ethiopia’s interest to expand relations in various fields, particularly the economic sector. President Van de Bellen said Austria was keen to continue supporting Ethiopia’s development endeavors. The meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed bilateral issues and ways to boost trade and investment relations.
In a meeting with Prime Minister Hamdok of Sudan , President Sahle-Work congratulated him on his appointment and emphasized that Ethiopia would continue to support the Prime Minister’s administration and cooperate in bilateral relations. Prime Minister Hamdok praised the role of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy in the negotiations in Sudan. He said it had been an excellent example of African-led negotiations and problem solving.
President Sahle-Work met the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ways to expand this, notably the development of renewable energy like wind and issues related with climate change. They welcomed the successful meeting on Energy Transition that had been co-organized by Ethiopia and Denmark and held ahead of the Climate Action Summit. Denmark has been supporting Ethiopia’s Climate-resilient Green Economy Strategy for several years through the Danish Energy Partnership Program by promoting wind power. Ethiopia and Denmark signed the AWPGE (Accelerating Wind Power Generation in Ethiopia Program) in 2017 and this led to the financing of the USD200 million100MW Assela Wind Farm in 2018.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gedu Andargachew, held talks with the Foreign Ministers of Finland and Indonesia in New York. In discussions with Pekka Haavisto of Finland, the two ministers called for more work to expand the relationship between the two countries. Mr. Haavisto welcomed Ethiopia’s efforts to maintain peace in the Horn of Africa and the diplomatic role played by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed in Sudan. He underlined the Finish government’s commitment to strengthen the private sector in Ethiopia, and support their partnership to bring regional peace. Foreign Minister Gedu signed an agreement with Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on a mutual waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports. He called on the two countries to cement relations in the areas of trade and investment. Ms. Marsudi, who said direct flights between Ethiopia and Indonesia were playing a constructive role in expansion of trade, emphasized the importance of exchanges of visits to strengthen bilateral relations.
Foreign Minister Gedu met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah to exchange views on bilateral issues. Sheikh Al-Khalid called for more efforts to elevate the ties between Kuwait and Ethiopia to a new high through realization of identified joint agendas and projects. He commended the decisive diplomatic role played by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy in Sudan, and stressed Kuwait was keen to cooperate with Ethiopia on regional peace and security. Minister Gedu, who briefed Sheikh Al-Khalid Al-Sabah on Ethiopia’s role in the region, and who noted Ethiopia was benefiting from projects being implemented by Kuwait Fund, invited Kuwaiti business interests to invest in Ethiopia.
Foreign Minister Gedu, meeting Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, praised Moroccan investors for their interest in Ethiopia and requested Morocco to share its experience of generating solar energy to Ethiopia. Mr. Bourita stressed that Morocco was interested in expanding its relations with Ethiopia.
Foreign Minister Gedu and Algeria’s Foreign Minister, Sabri Boukadoum, agreed to work together on bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. They pledged to strengthen ties by launching direct flight between Addis Ababa and Algeria and to hold a meeting of the Joint Commission to further strengthen relations as soon as possible.
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Foreign Minister Gedu addresses the LLDC ministerial meeting in New York
The annual Ministerial Meeting of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) was held this week on the side-lines of the General Assembly.
Minister Gedu emphasized the multiple development challenges the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) continued to face because of geographic and other structural obstacles. They might take policy measures to promote structural transformation, diversify economies and increase exports, but they faced particular trade and development-related challenges, including remoteness and high transit costs. These constrained efforts to meet the Vienna Program of Action. LLDC share of global trade remained low. Infrastructural gaps hindered regional integration and slowed structural transformation, and lack of adequate finance and technological and institutional capacity aggravated the problems.
Certainly, he said, achieving inclusive and sustainable development was primarily a national responsibility, but a renewed global partnership with development partners, public and private, was vital to fully achieve the Vienna Program of Action. Coordinated and enhanced international support in manufacturing, trade, and productive capacity to complement national efforts, would contribute significantly. Establishing effective and efficient infrastructure systems and facilitating fast movement of goods and services, with cooperation and partnership of transit countries, was critical for the integration of LLDCs into the global market.
Mr. Gedu emphasized that since the adoption of the Vienna Program of Action, Ethiopia had worked to implement it in line with the national development plan and priorities. Achieving inclusive and sustainable industrialization and building resilient infrastructure were priorities of the Ethiopian government. It was taking policy measures to improve the manufacturing base, and enhance “connectedness as well as competitiveness.” It was giving special attention to labour intensive and light manufacturing sectors, in agro-processing, leather and textiles. It had We established industrial parks to simplify access to land, and assist in logistics and custom services. In addition, the Ethiopian government had also making massive public investment in infrastructure, to enhance productive capacity and promote regional integration. The Minister said there had been encouraging progress in expanding road, railway and air transport services and in working with neighboring countries to establish and maintain effective transit systems on the basis of common interest. In addition, the government has recently taken bold decisions to diversify sea outlets and further promote regional integration.
This amounted to some progress, but, he added, there was still a lot to be done to realize inclusive and sustainable development in Ethiopia. The Minister reaffirmed Ethiopia’s
commitment and readiness to redouble efforts to fully implement the Vienna Program of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals in close collaboration with development partners.
The world’s landlocked countries, whose populations amount to about 440 million, face a whole series of challenges associated with their lack of direct territorial access to the sea and remoteness from world markets. The dependence on other countries for international trade is an additional problem. The Vienna Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014-2024 came out of the second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, held in Vienna in 2014. It addresses the challenges landlocked countries face and aims to contribute to the eradication of poverty, through the implementation of specific actions in priority areas.
The six priorities it identified were: Fundamental transit policy issues; Infrastructure development and maintenance, in transport infrastructure and energy and information and communications technology infrastructure; International trade and trade facilitation; Regional integration and cooperation; Structural economic transformation and Means of implementation. These allowed for an emphasis on development and expansion of efficient transit systems and transport development, enhancement of competitiveness, expansion of trade, structural transformation, regional cooperation, and the promotion of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development to reduce poverty, build resilience, bridge economic and social gaps and ultimately help transform those countries into land-linked countries.
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Egypt and Qatar call for the US to remove the Sudan from its terror list
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has also called for Sudan to be removed from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism(SST) list.
President el-Sisi, the current chair of the African Union, addressed a strong message of support to the Sudanese people and called on the U.S. administration to remove Sudan from its blacklist for state sponsors of terrorism. He stressed the importance of removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in recognition of positive transformation which the country is going through. He said: “It’s important to help Sudan to address the economic challenges through interaction with the international financial institutions to fulfil hopes of its people.” Qatar’s Emir said he was “confident that Sudanese will be able to overcome the transitional period successfully. He emphasized Qatar ‘s support for the Sudanese people, and called on the international community to support the transitional government.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter told CNN that Sudan’s transition was at a fragile moment, and to succeed, it needed urgent international support. He said Sudan was facing
enormous economic difficulties but the country was not eligible for international financial support because it remained on the United States’ SST list He said that label was misleading because Sudan supported the U.S. and had received some sanctions relief two years ago. However, because it was still on the SST list, Sudan “cannot receive urgently needed assistance from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, or debt relief.” In addition, if other countries aided Sudan they would incur US sanctions.
Mr. Carter said this left Prime Minister Hamdok’s government vulnerable. Continuing economic deprivation could lead to frustrations, and Prime Minister Hamdok needed to demonstrate that the civilian government could improve people’s lives. He said,
“Instability in Sudan would have negative impacts across the Horn of Africa and increase tensions in a Red Sea zone already [affected] by the war in Yemen. It would also provide a ready reason for opponents of the transition to disrupt the country’s encouraging steps toward peace and democracy. ”
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Moody’s affirms Ethiopia’s B1 rating
Moody’s, in a statement on Friday last week affirmed Ethiopia’s B1 rating though it also classified its view of the outlook from stable to negative. The statement said the decision to change the outlook to negative reflected rising fiscal and external risks related to the decline in government revenue generation and a rise in State-Owned Enterprise external debt and associated service costs over recent years. Coverage of imports remained thin. While the government was pursuing a wide-ranging structural reform and privatization agenda, Moody’s said there were still implementation risks and it would take time to reverse the deterioration of recent years. It argued, therefore, that the risks to Ethiopia’s fiscal and external positions had increased.
Keeping the rating at B1 recognized a combination of credit strengths. These included the strong growth potential supported by large infrastructure projects and underpinned by foreign direct investment and donor support. Moody’s expects the economy to continue to grow at a robust rate, around 7-8% in the next few years. It noted GDP expanded 7.7% last year on the back of high-profile infrastructure projects, including highways and hydroelectric dams, generating employment and supporting future government revenue generation and foreign exchange generation. There were good prospects for continued solid inflow of Foreign Direct Investment and support from the international community, including technical assistance from bilateral and multilateral development partners, continuing access to donor grants, and a favorable debt structure due to a high share of concessional borrowing. This helped to contain fiscal deficits at or below 3% of GDP and debt service at around 5% of revenue.
Ethiopia, however, was still affected by long-standing credit constraints, including very low wealth levels and high reliance on subsistence agriculture which could be affected by weather-related disruptions. Droughts could have a significant negative impact on the agriculture and energy sectors. This limited economic resilience. There were concerns over governance across the economy and revenue mobilization capacity. Moody’s said it had seen broad stabilization in domestic political risks over the last two years, but regional unrest threatened domestic political risks and ramifications for delivery of the reform agenda.
Moody’s said the government’s direct debt burden remains relatively low at around 30% of GDP, but the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) debt was also around 30% of GDP and the increase in external debt had not been matched by improved capacity of SOEs to increase export revenue. The government had rescheduled some loans but some SOEs faced difficulties in meeting external debt service obligations. The IMF classified Ethiopia as being at “high risk of external debt distress” because of its low level of export receipts relative to external debt, and Moody’s noted Ethiopia’s main exports, especially coffee and gold, were susceptible to commodity price shocks. It expected external debt would rise to above 220% of export receipts in fiscal 2020, and continue to increase in the near to medium term. It projected reserves to remain around $3-3.5 billion, covering less than two months of imports.
Moody’s underlined that the government had announced plans for reforms to improve tax administration and compliance, and tightened SOE’s borrowing. It had also launched, and started to implement, a wide-ranging structural reform strategy to transform the economy to a private sector-oriented growth model and strengthening revenue generation capacity. However, this would take time, and for the moment Ethiopia’s credit metrics were weaker than the last time Moody’s affirmed the rating in 2018. The fiscal position was exposed to a possible further decline in government revenue, increased difficulties in meeting public sector external debt servicing and failure to raise export receipts significantly. The statement added that GDP per capita was US$2,332 (2018 Estimate); Real GDP growth (% change) was 7.7% (2018 Estimate) and the Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec) was 10.4% (2018 Actual); and External debt/GDP: 31.2% (2018 Estimate).
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IGAD training for human rights’ experts and officials
IGAD started a three-day training course for national experts and officials from Human Rights Institutions within Member States on Tuesday this week (September 24). The training aimed to build capacity on African Human Rights systems and explore ways to provide collaboration and effective cooperation. The training was carried out under the auspices of the Political Affairs Program under the Peace and Security Division of IGAD.
Mechanisms for human rights are monitored by three continental human rights bodies – the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) and the African Committee of the Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). Their work is complemented and supplemented by human rights institutions at the national level. National Human Rights’ Institutions (NHRIs) of IGAD member states are required to protect human rights, to receive, investigate and resolve complaints, mediate conflict and monitoring activities; promote human rights through education, outreach, the media and publications; through training and capacity building, and by advising and assisting governments in other ways to comply with the Paris Principles adopted by the UN in 1993. These include requirements for competence, autonomy from government, guaranteed independence, pluralism, and adequate resources and powers of investigation.
At the opening of the training, Mr. Bruck Yohannes, representing the Director of IGAD’s Peace and Security Division emphasized this was part of IGAD’s continuous effort to build capacity for the institutions of member states working in the areas of democracy and good governance. Representatives from the African Union Commission’s Network of Human Rights Institutions and from the Government of Ethiopia emphasized the need for cooperation and collaboration to promote and protect human rights as detailed in the African Human Rights Architecture. They underlined the necessity to ratify and implement treaties relating to human rights and support National Human Rights’ Institutions, and called on IGAD and the African Union to provide capacity strengthening support to ensure effectiveness. IGAD, as a Regional Economic Community under the Peace and Security Strategy 2016-2020, recognizes deficits in good governance and protection of human rights are among the root causes of conflict in the IGAD region. It expects the democratic institutions of IGAD Member States to assist efforts in promotion of good governance and the protection of human rights.
Topics discussed included: African Human Rights instruments and legal frameworks; the roles of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the African Court for Human and Peoples Rights; discussion of the African Committee of Experts on Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Human Rights System and the African Union Transitional Justice Policy; as well as the role of National Human Rights Institutions and cooperation with regional and sub-regional human rights mechanisms.
